The Bladecrushers
by MaChunXia
Summary: Gou Hiwatari, Makoto Granger, Markus Tate, Rin Kon and Kenny's daughter, Kouren form the Japanese team called The Bladecrushers. But what happens when certain friends suddenly start acting strange? How can average teenagers envision the future? And what does the 16-year-old Chairman of the European Beyblade Association have to do with all of this?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! I'm Chun (or Ar-chan). This is officially my first Beyblade fanfic and also my first fanfic** _ **ever**_ **so I might mess up…a lot! I uploaded this chapter a long time ago but now it seems like a load of nonsense to me so I decided to edit it. I haven't made all that many changes but I think it's much better than before…so here it is.**

 **Disclaimer: I'll on** **ly do this once. I don't own Beyblade. It's older than me!**

 **x.x.x**

The morning wind felt cold against his pale skin as he walked through the gates of Tackachino Junior High School. He dragged his feet dejectedly along the concrete path and stared at his wrist watch. Gou Hiwatari had arrived 45 minutes early. A smirk appeared on his normally stoic face as he thought of the events that had occurred just as he was about to leave his house.

FLASHBACK

"Kai, I'm leaving!" Gou yelled at the door and stopped when he heard his father remark, "Nerd!"

"New place, new school, new appearance." Gou replied with a roll of the eyes, knowing that his father was referring to his not very delinquent-like appearance..

"No son of mine is going anywhere looking like a 'goodie goodie'." Kai retorted as he bent down with a sigh. He took his son's sleeves, unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. Next he pulled out his neatly tucked in shirt.

"What are you doing?" Gou asked, his surprise evident in his voice.

"If Kenji finds you like this..."Kai began with a smirk, completely ignoring the boy's question.

"I'll never live it down" Gou admitted, as he let his father mess up his carefully styled light blue bangs and deep purple hair so they looked exactly like Kai's when he was fifteen. Only, Kai had dark blue hair.

The now grey and black haired businessman smirked at his accomplishment. "Now you look a lot more like the troublesome idiot you are."

END OF FLASHBACK

Gou was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a sound that was music to his ears. The familiar sound of beyblading.

He followed the sound and found himself at the back of the building, staring at a beyblade dish and two beyblades revolving in it. A boy was standing on either side of the dish. The boy on the left was an entire head bigger than Gou and, no doubt, a bully. The boy he was battling was much younger, or at least shorter. He was an inch shorter than Gou, with dark blue hair tied down and a red baseball cap on his head. He was wearing the school uniform. Gou silently cursed. The first person he met on his first day of Japanese school just _had_ to be Makoto Ganger. Perfect. Just perfect.

"Go, Dragoon," Makoto yelled. Nothing happened. The older boy seized this opportunity and attacked.

A clatter was heard as Makoto's blade fell at the feet of the bigger one who cheered in triumph.

"An impressive prize for an impressive win," the older boy said to himself as he looked down at the younger boy who was on his knees and looked as if he had lost something important.

"I'll be taking this, as per our deal" he said. Gou's eyes widened and before he knew it….

"I'll fight you!" he suddenly declared, feeling uncharacteristically heroic.

"Another overconfident kid, huh?" He asked before continuing. "Fine, I'll make you a deal. If I win, I get your blade."

"And if I win?"

"The kid gets his blade back."

"Deal!"

"Gou?" Makoto asked. "What are you doing here? I mean, don't you live in Russia?"

"Where I live is none of your business, Granger." Gou said, glaring at the younger boy.

Gou had already began to take out his blade when the bigger boy threw him a blade and said "You'll be playing with this."

Gou stared at the piece of metal in his hand. On the bit chip was a picture of a dragon...

"Dragoon" Gou said automatically.

Immediately, Makoto was at his side.

"Hey! That's mine." He exclaimed.

Gou ignored him and set the blade on his launcher. His opponent did the same.

"Three, two, one…"

"Let it Rip!"

The battle begun. Gou's temporarily borrowed Dragoon against his...um...blade. He didn't even have a bit beast and yet he was overflowing with self-confidence.

"Attack!" The boy ordered his blade.

Gou took the attack and a devilish smirk appeared on his face as he found the perfect opportunity for his attack.

"Rise, DRAGOON! he yelled.

"It's not gonna work" Makoto warned but Gou was as confident as a professional. Why? Because he _was_ a professional.

The mighty dragon rose and at Gou's command, threw the other boy's blade out of the dish. Both boys stared at Gou with wide eyes. The defending Tackachino Junior High champion had lost to a...a newbie.

"Y...you just got lucky, kid." the boy said. "I'll win next time!"

"Good luck with that," Gou muttered sarcastically as the boy ran off.

Gou threw Dragoon at the boy, who was also staring at him, but managed to catch it. He bowed.

"Thanks so much."

Gou stared at him as though he'd gone mad.

Makoto ignored him.

"So…Gou, I'm guessing you're fourteen, right?"

"I am. Why?"

"Great. I'll show you the..." Makoto's sentence was cut short by a shout..

"MAKOTO!"

A girl, about twelve years of age, was running towards them. She had fair skin and light blue hair styled like Madoka Amano.

"Makoto, do you realize the damage Dragoon would have taken if..." her voice trailed off when she noticed Gou. She inhaled sharply.

"Makoto, who is this guy?"

"This is Gou. He's new but he's a year older and he's a really strong beyblader. He beat Augustus."

"Gou as in Gou Hiwatari?"

"Yeah," Makoto began but Kouren was already squealing.

"Oh…wow! I'm Kouren. It is an absolute pleasure to meet you. You're a member of the Russian Team, aren't you?"

" _Former_ member " Gou corrected. "And do me a favour and leave me alone. All of you. I have no interest in wasting my time with..."

Once again they were interrupted by a loud...

"MAKOTO! KOUREN! OHAYO!"

"Markie!" Makoto exclaimed.

"Markus Tate, keep your voice down." A teacher, who happened to be passing by, scolded.

The boy had spiky orange-blonde hair and blue eyes. He was the same height as Makoto.

"Gou," he said in confusion. "What are you doing in Japan?"

"Miserably failing to find some peace and quiet," Gou answered with a pointed look.

"Hold on." Kouren said. "How do you two know Gou?"

"Gou, Kenji and Uncle Kai came to visit last year." Makoto answered, making Gou wonder what Kai's reaction would be when he heard Makoto calling him 'Uncle'.

"I'm pretty sure I can find my own way," Gou said, making a beeline for the gates.

He walked into the school building. It wasn't very complicated or maze-like like his old school. There were two over-sized entrance doors and a huge empty space with various doors to his left and right. There were two staircases, one on each side, directly in front of him. He looked up and found that the school had three floors. The classes were built directly above the rooms on his sides. The corridors were fairly wide and had brown wooden railings. If you leaned on them you could see the ground floor.

Gou took the staircase on the right and went to the first floor. He realized that the first floor was full of numerous sections of grade seven. The first floor was grade seven, the second was grade eight and the third was grade nine. Made sense.

He climbed up another flight of stairs. The classrooms were labeled so it was easy to find them. He walked along the corridor till he found his class. It was the last one. He was a student of class 8-D. He saw that on the opposite side were more sections of grade eight. 8-E, 8-F, 8-G and 8-H. Eight sections for each class. Gou decided not to comment.

He had almost entered the class when he heard an unfamiliar female voice call out, "Are you Gou Hiwatari?"

Gou turned to see a young brunette standing behind him. He nodded slowly.

The woman smiled. "I'm Kasumi Nishimura, your homeroom teacher and you need to come with me."

Gou followed silently.

She took him with him when she entered the class and announced, "Everyone, this is Gou Hiwatari. He's new here so I want you to treat him nicely."

With that, she assigned him a seat at the front of the class. Gou absolutely hated it.

At the end of the day, just as the bell rang, the door burst open and in stumbled three kids.

Ms Nishimura regarded them sternly. "Children, don't you think you ought to control your excitement a little?"

Kouren and Markus blushed and apologized while Makoto mumbled under his breath, "We waited for the bell."

Gou walked straight pass them.

"Gou, wait." Makoto said. "Markie and I are headed over to Kouren's place to beyblade. Wanna come?"

Gou took a deep breath. "Look, just because I've met you once before it doesn't mean we can be the best of chums now so quit pestering me."

For a second, Makoto's face showed no reaction and Gou felt a surge of satisfaction….until it broke into a wide grin.

"Is that a yes?"

"It's a _no,_ you dummy!"

'Exactly how dense is this guy?' Gou thought.

 **x.x.x**

Gou walked home. The day had been boring. He needed some excitement. In other words, he needed beyblading.

The moment he thought that an arrow flew towards him, missing him by a centimeter. It had a letter attached to it. Here's what it said:

 _Gou Hiwatari,_ _  
_ _Walk exactly fifty steps straight ahead. Turn left. Walk twenty three steps. You will arrive at an abandoned building. I will be waiting for you there._ _  
_ _Your worst nightmare._

Gou knew exactly who this 'worst nightmare' was. His best friend and greatest rival. The only person who understood Gou even better than Kai.

Gou followed the instructions on the letter and arrived at the abandoned building. He went to the roof knowing that was the place where his 'Nightmare ' was expecting him.

The 'Nightmare ' did not fail him. On the rooftop it was extremely windy. A fourteen year old boy was standing there. He had two toned hair like Gou but the colour was different. He had white bangs and back hair which was styled exactly like Gou's. His eyes were icy blue. He was wearing a black trench coat over an indigo coloured T-shirt. He had two red triangles on his face. One on each cheek.

"So the nerd starts attending school once again." he said.

"That's rich coming from a straight As student!" Gou shot back, rolling his eyes. "Though I'm pretty sure you didn't just try to kill me because you wanted to chit chat.

"I called you here so I could settle the score with you once and for all, unless…" his voice trailed off and his determined expression was replaced with a mischievous smirk.

"Unless what?" Gou demanded.

"Unless you're too chicken to accept." Kenji teased.

"In your sorry dreams, Seaweed Butt."

He took out his blue blade and Gou followed his example, taking out his crimson one.

"Three"

"Two"

"One"

"Let it Rip!"

And they launched their blades into the dish.

 **x.x.x**

 **And done! That's chapter one. Hope you liked it.**

 **Some important information about our characters:**

 **Gou Hiwatari:**

 **Age: 14**

 **Lives with: Kai Hiwat** **ari (father)**

 **Appearance: light blue bangs, deep purple (almost black) hair styled exactly like Kai's hair in season 2. His outfit is similar to Kai's V-force outfit. He has a blue triangle on each cheek.**

 **Makoto Granger:**

 **Age: 13**

 **Lives with: Tyson Granger (father), Hilary Tachibana (mother).**

 **Appearance: a smaller version of the 15-year-old Tyson (G-rev). He has Hilary's eyes.**

 **Markus Tate:**

 **Age: 13**

 **Lives with: Max Tate (father). His mother, Emily is normally away for work (you'll find out more about this later).**

 **Appearance: orange-blond hair, blue eyes. Wears regular clothes.**

 **Kouren:**

 **Age: 12 (she's a year ahead of her class)**

 **Lives with: Kenny (father). Her mother, Ming-Ming is away, travelling.**

 **Appearance: blue hair, chin-length from the front, shoulder lenth from the back.**

 **And...that's it. Thanks for reading. Please review.**


	2. An Old Rival and A New Ally

CHAPTER 2:

 **HI, GUYS! I'M back! And I have a few people to thank for reviewing the first chapter:**

 **Beyblade Reader: Thanks. You were the first one to read my story and the first one to review.**

 **Samridhi27: Yes. It's very much like the beyblade seasons. You gave me a lot of confidence. I thought no one was gonna read this.**

 **Rock the Road: I agree. My name is kinda long. You can call me Chun Xia like I said before. My friends call me Ar-chan so you can call me that if you want. That goes for the rest of you too:)**

 **Enough talk, now on with the chapter!**

 **x.x.x**

"Where is he?" Kai thought furiously. Gou was supposed to be home an hour ago. A certain wall caught his eye. It had an arrow with a message stuck to it:

 _Gou Hiwatari,_  
 _Walk exactly fifty steps straight ahead. Turn left. Walk twenty three steps. You will arrive at an abandoned building. I will be waiting for you there._  
 _Your worst nightmare_

Up till now Kai's anger was directed at Gou and Gou alone. Now he was furious at two teenagers.

'Those fools!' he thought angrily. 'I left that idiot in Russia. What the heck is he doing in Japan?! And how the hell did he get here in the first place?'Kai asked himself before driving towards the abandoned building.

As he reached the roof a horrible sight met his eyes. Lying in front of him, wounded and unconscious, were two boys with two toned hair. The one lying on his feet had light blue bangs and dark purple hair while the one in front of him had snow white bangs and shiny black hair. Shards of once complete beyblades were lying in the dish. Two bit chips were lying separately. They were scratched and badly damaged but still in one piece. Kai picked them up. He went to Gou and settled him on his back. Then he went to Kenji and picked him up in his arms. As soon as he reached his car he dumped the two boys in the passenger seat so he could keep an eye on them.

 **x.x.x**

Kai watched the boys stir. Their eyes fluttered open and as soon as he had recognized their surroundings, they asked him in unison "Who won?"

Kai wanted to slap both of them but then remembered that winning was the only thing he cared about when he was their age.

'They take after me a little too much.' Kai thought.

"No one won. It was a tie. Your blades were shattered. Couldn't be fixed." he answered, throwing them the bit chips. He looked at Kenji.

"What're you doing here in Japan? How did you even get here?"

"It was quite simple . I took a plane and arrived this morning." he said as if it was perfectly normal for a fourteen year old to travel from one country to another without anyone knowing.

"I'm leaving for an important trip pretty soon and the last thing I want is for you two to end up doing something you'll regret so no beyblading at least until tomorrow."

"NO FAIR, KAI!" the boys yelled.

"How do you expect to beyblade without any beyblades?"

"Guess you'll have to go out and get some then. Coz' we don't know any shops here." Kenji said hopefully.

"Gou, you'll find a shop tomorrow." Kai ordered.

"Ugh!" Gou exclaimed in irritation.

 **x.x.x**

Gou was sitting on his bed, getting bored to the point of madness, when his phone beeped. It was Kenji.

From: Kenji  
Time: 8:01  
Yo Go. Got any parts?

In the room beside Gou's, Kenji's phone beeped, indicating that he had a message.  
From: Gou  
Time: 8:01

Ya. And the name's GOU!  
Gou received another message.

From: Kenji  
Time: 8:02  
Cum to the windo in 3…2…1…Now!

Gou ran to the window and opened it, his curiosity getting the better of him. He fell to the ground as Kenji fell on top of him.

"Mmmph…Get off me, Water Queen!" Gou said in a muffled voice.

"It was your fault, Flame Head!

"My fault! How the heck is it my fault?"

"Shut up, Fire brain. If Kai finds us he's gonna kill us."

"Whatever, Seaweed Butt." Gou grumbled.

 **x.x.x**

'It's suspiciously quiet up there.' Kai thought. 'Better go up there and check,' he decided.

He went to Kenji's room first, only to find it empty. He ran to Gou's room and found it empty as well. Then he noticed the window. It was wide open. He ran to the backyard and as he got closer, he heard the sound of metal clashing.

"Attack!" Gou yelled.

"Attack!" Kenji yelled a fraction of a second later.

The two beybladers held their breaths as they saw the blades heading for each other. Just as they were about to clash, a third beyblade entered the dish, knocking both their blades out.

"You two are gonna so, so sorry." Kai said in a dangerous voice.

The 'two' rolled their eyes, though their expression said something more like: 'Uh oh'.

Here's what they looked like. Kenji looked pretty much the same: white bangs, black hair, icy blue eyes and very pale skin. He had a red triangle on each cheek. Gou had changed into a purple tank top with red details and grey baggy pants. He had a blue triangle on each cheek.

"Go to your rooms." Kai ordered before adding to himself, "This is gonna be a long night."

 **x.x.x**

The next morning Gou walked to school thinking how lucky Kenji was. He could bunk off and no one would notice. Gou could bunk off too. It wasn't like Kai would mind. But it was too late now. He had reached the school gate and Kasumi Nishimura had spotted him.

"Hello, Gou. How are you?" she asked kindly.

"Fine, I guess." Gou muttered unhappily.

"Don't you like school?" she asked again.

"No" Gou replied and walked towards the building.

'He's a strange boy, ' she thought to herself.

When the bell rang, Ms Nishimura entered the class and was once again accompanied by a student.

This time, it was a girl with long, shiny black hair tied in a high ponytail that reached her waist, and golden eyes.

"Hey everybody!" she exclaimed happily. "My name's Rin! Rin Kon. I'm…" she paused for a moment, counting on her fingers. "I'm fourteen! Oh, and I love to Beyblade!"

Gou silently groaned. First Makoto, then Markus and now Rin. He just had to keep a low profile and she probably wouldn't notice, right? Wrong. Because at that precise moment, Ms Nishimura said,

"Rin, dear, why don't you go sit next to Gou."

Rin nodded cheerfully and bobbed over to Gou.

As she plopped herself on the chair, her eyes narrowed in realization. "You're Uncle Kai's son!"

"Keep your voice down!" Gou hissed.

Gou sighed as he left the classroom. Sitting with Rin had turned out to be a complete nightmare. She kept jumping up and down, blabbering in Chinese each time she got excited. Gou could understand Chinese but that seemed to make matters worse since most of the things she said weren't exactly useful.

Once again, because of some wretched twist in fate, he stumbled into none other than Makoto Granger. He was accompanied by his friends Markus Tate and Kouren. They greeted him with a somewhat nervous, "Hi, Gou." Apparently the kids had got the message. But then why were they here again?

Someone bumped into him. It was just Rin, being her usual careless self. He glared at her.

"Hey! You should try being nice for a difference."

"Nice for a change," Gou corrected.

"Rin!" the three exclaimed. Rin merely glanced in their direction and continued.

"Gou shi wo de pengyou." (Gou is my friend) she said teasingly, putting an arm around the boy.

"I don't need friends." Gou replied emotionlessly.

"Everyone needs friends. Even jerks like you." Then she added, "You can speak Chinese? Cool."

"Whatever," Gou said and walked off.

 **x.x.x**

Gou stepped out of the school and found a guy distributing leaflets yelling something about a tournament. Gou took one from him and read it.

 _Want to represent Japan in the next World Championships?_ it asked. _Well here's your chance. Qualification tournament will be held this Saturday._

"Guess I'll be going then," he thought to himself as he walked in an attempt to find a beyblade shop.

He was wandering the streets aimlessly when a shop caught his eye. 'Kenny's Beyblades' the title said. This was definitely a beyblade shop.

Gou walked inside and was greeted by a man with shaggy brown hair that covered his eyes completely.

"Hello, there!" he said kindly, then realized who he was talking to. "Gou! What brings you here?"

"I thought you were an engineer for the BBA or something," Gou said.

"I am," Kenny said. "But I also work here for fun."

Gou thought to himself, 'Who _works_ for fun?'

"Dad, do you need some help?" they heard a familiar female voice. A girl entered the shop from another door at the back, probably leading into the residential area. It was Kouren.

She stopped when she saw Gou. "Umm…Hi, Gou."

Gou rolled his eyes.

"So…what brings you here?"

"I need a couple of beyblade parts."

"What sort?" Kenny asked.

"Uh…my blade's in shatters," Gou said.

"Your blade's broken? How?" Kouren asked.

"In a beybattle yesterday."

"Was it when you fought Augustus?" she asked.

"No, of course not. " Gou said.

"Stop pestering him, Kouren," Kenny said.

"Thank you," Gou breathed. He wasn't one to thank people very often but anything worked when he got an opportunity to stop talking.

"Sorry," Kouren said, blushing.

"Can I just have my parts now?" Gou asked in his not-so-polite manner.

"Of course." Kenny said, "Here you go."

As he walked to his house, Gou saw a guy. He had mid-back length scarlet hair and wine colored eyes. He was wearing a black mantled trench coat over a red shirt and black pants. he smiled at him. Not that sweet innocent sort of smile. More like: 'I-know-what-you're-up-to' sort of smile. Something distracted Gou, which was surprising, since Gou was never distracted. When he looked back, the guy was gone.

 **x.x.x**

Gou's instinct took over as soon as he reached the house. He took out his keys and inserted them in the knob only to find it unlocked. Of course, Kai and Kenji were already in.

Gou dumped his bag on his bed and…

"You should've told me when you came," Kai grunted.

Gou gave his father a blade and all the parts. "Where's Kenji?"

"Dunno," Kai answered ,"Could be in his room, could be in Russia. That's just about how unpredictable that kid is."

"Oh really?" they heard a voice. Kai spun around to find Kenji leaning against the doorframe. Kai sighed, "Let's fix those blades."

 **x.x.x**

Kenji and Gou were watching the television. The World Championship was coming up and the two had nothing to do.

"The world championship tournament is a great opportunity for beybladers all over the world to show off their talent and become professional." the news reporter was saying. " Now let's have a word with the chairman of the BBA, Tyson Granger!"

Tyson appeared on the screen. He said some stuff about sportsmanship and team spirits and that losing didn't matter.

"It's almost as though he wants to participate too." Kenji said with a smirk.

"His son doesn't seem to have inherited his talent." Gou said. "He can't even control his own bit beast."

Kenji hung his head, his white bangs covering his eyes. "Neither can I."

Gou remembered the scene from their battle. Kenji had lost control of himself and his beyblade. That was NOT normal. Kenji was a world class beyblader and he was pretty famous too. He had fought alongside Gou in the Russian team.

"What happened back then?" Gou asked.

Kenji sighed ,"I'm not sure, Gou. It was like someone else had control over me."

"Someone?" Gou asked suspiciously.

"Yes. I could…" he trailed off, staring at the TV screen in horror.

Gou followed his gaze. A sponsor for some European tournament was saying a few things. The guy had mid-back scarlet hair and wore a black mantled trench coat.

"What's wrong?"Gou asked.

"N…Nothing" Kenji answered shakily. "That's Ren Katsuragi, right?"

"Ren Katsuragi?" Gou asked. "No. That can't be him. I saw that guy coming out of a shop this afternoon."

'Gou's not the only one who's seen him today,' Kenji thought.

FLASHBACK (Kenji's memories)

Gou and Kenji were in the middle of their battle at the roof of the abandoned building. Kenji got the feeling they were being watched. That's when the guy appeared. He was a teenager, around sixteen…maybe seventeen. He had long scarlet hair and was dressed in a black mantled trench coat. He was standing directly behind Gou but even Gou, with his sharp senses, didn't seem to notice.

"Attack," Gou commanded his blade and Kenji looked into the dish. When he looked back, the guy was gone.

After that Kenji lost control of himself and his blade. It was almost as if someone else was controlling him.

END OF FLASHBACK

 **x.x.x**

The next morning Gou was alone in the house. Kai had gone on a business trip to Russia and Kenji had gone with him. Gou had nothing better to do so he went to school.

"Konnichigga gozimatsu!"Rin exclaimed as she took her seat beside Gou.

"Its konnichiwa gozaimasu. " Gou corrected. "Don't speak Japanese if you don't know how to. Besides, it's still morning."

Rin sighed. "You're always so mean."

"Good morning, students," Ms Nishimura said as she entered the class. The class repeated the greeting.

"Hey, I got it!" Rin said suddenly. "Will you battle me after school?"

Gou thought for a moment. He had fixed his blade and he needed to battle someone so he could master the changes.

"I guess," he said.

"Yippee!"

Therefore, after school, Gou found himself in front of a beyblade dish, launcher ready and Rin standing on the opposite side. Makoto, Markus and Kouren were the spectators.

"Ready?" Kouren asked, to which the bladers nodded.

"Let it Rip!"

 **x.x.x**

 **Finished! Wow, I actually edited two chapters in one day but I know they still seem pathetic.**

 **So…what do you think? Who's the scarlet haired teen that appeared before Gou and Kenji? And how can he be present in two places at once?**

 **Character information:**

 **Rin Kon:**

 **Age: 14**

 **Lives with: Ray Kon (father), Mariah Kon (mother)**

 **Appearance: Shiny black hair, tied in a high pony tail that reaches her waist, golden eyes. Her outfit resembles Ray's.**

 **Kenji :**

 **Age: 14**

 **Appearance: snow white bangs, jet black hair, very pale skin. He has a red trinagle on each cheek. Mostly seen wearing a black trench coat over an idigo shirt.**

 **Until next time,**

 **~Chun =)**


	3. The Qualification Tournament

It was a sunny Saturday morning and Gou Hiwatari was wandering the streets of Japan with a map in hand. Now, normally teenagers were the last people you'd find on a Saturday morning but Gou was an early riser. However, he wasn't enjoying the experience at all. The weather was normal, considering it was summer, but Gou felt like he was gonna die from the heat. He was used to the freezing cold weather in Russia. So even with his sleeveless tank top Gou felt like he was going to melt.

Gou stopped by a beverage shop to get himself some juice and ask for directions. Fifteen minutes later, Gou was standing outside the BBA building. The Qualification tournament would be held today, at the BBA building. Also, Gou knew that it was sponsored by Kai. Kai liked to spend large amounts of money so he could anonymously sponsor various beyblade tournaments. It was his way of showing that he still loved the sport.

Gou walked inside the building and spotted a guy he recognized and not just from TV. The guy saw him too and walked over. "Hi there!" he greeted.

He was around the same age as Kai. He was wearing grey pants and a red jacket over a T-shirt. He was also wearing a red baseball cap. Tyson Granger, chairman of the BBA.

"Gou! You're participating too?" Tyson asked, clearly pleased.

Gou simply nodded, choosing to stay quiet.

"So," Tyson said, an amused smile playing on his lips. "I bet you know where to get yourself registered."

"I'm sure I can find my way," Gou said walking off, hands in his pockets.

"Straight down the hall," Tyson yelled after the retreating teen. "The guy in charge is probably asleep so don't hesitate to wake him up!"

As Tyson had predicted, the guy on duty was sleeping. Gou snapped his fingers. Nothing happened. Finally, he slammed his hand on the table, his patience wearing thin. The guy woke up immediately asking "What's wrong? "What's wrong?"

When he saw Gou, he realized what had happened and who had dared disturb his nap. "You should learn to respect your elders, kid."

"I'm here to get myself registered." Gou said, eyes closed, as if nothing had happened.

As soon as he'd got himself registered, Gou saw another guy and two kids he knew a little too well. The guy had blond hair and blue eyes. The boy standing on his left was someone Gou recognized from school. A certain boy called Markus Tate. Next to Markus was the annoying Makoto Granger.

"Gou! Hi!" Makoto yelled.

Gou rolled his eyes. "Leave me alone, kid." And with that, he left.

 **x.x.x**

An hour later the tournament started. By now the bleachers were full and the crowd was cheering wildly. Tyson made his way into the arena with the blond guy Gou had seen earlier.

"Hello there, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Tyson Granger, chairman of the BBA."

"And I'm Max Tate, Vice Chairman."

"Go, Dad." Markus yelled from somewhere.

Max smiled at his son and continued, "The rules of the tournament are simple. The participants are divided in four groups. They will compete in a battle royal and the winners will then face each other in the semifinals. The winners of those two matches will then face off against each other for the title of champion."

The crowd cheered as the players made their way to the arena. Gou was in block D. 'Is D my lucky letter or something?' Gou thought.

"Players, are you ready?" Daichi, the announcer, asked. The players nodded.

"Three, two, one…" he gave a dramatic pause then yelled, "LET IT RIP!"

Upon Daichi's command, the young bladers launched their blades and Daichi began commenting on everyone's progress.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the battle has begun!"(kinda obvious, but that's Daichi for ya). "Over in block A Rin Kon has already sent her third blade flying. Better watch out folks. This kid maybe small but she's pretty wild."

Rin glared at him, "Watch it, Daichi. I'm not little. I just celebrated my fourteenth birthday." Daichi sweat dropped.

"The fight's pretty even in block B and C. Hold it, hold it. Markus Tate from block C has just sent Aika Askawa's blade out of the dish." The crowd made an 'Ohhh' sound at Aika's misfortune and clapped for Markus.

"Bad luck for the blader's in block D. Gou Hiwatari is killing it out there, sending one blade flying after the other. The only obstacle in his way now is Augustus Fahrenhart (the guy Gou challenged on his first day at Tackachino Junior High). Careful, Augustus. Gou's the type of guy who usually has a couple of tricks up his sleeve."

Gou smirked, "Rip it apart, Empress of Flames." Fire enveloped the stadium. Augustus looked at it with a mixture of shock and horror on his face. When the fire died Gou's blade was spinning faster than ever and Augustus's blade was broken and badly burnt.

"There you have it, folks. Gou Hiwatari is the first one to qualify for the semi finals. This also means that he has managed to secure himself a position on the Japanese team."

"That was pathetic," Gou commented as he walked away, hands in his pockets.

Gou watched as, one by one, the participants were defeated.

"And we have our four winners, folks. The preliminary tournament is over. Our four finalists: Rin Kon from block A, Makoto Granger from block B, Markus Tate from block C and Gou Hiwatari from block D. The matches will resume after a short break of thirty minutes. The security guards and the person on the registration desk will direct you to the cafeteria if you're interested."

 **x.x.x**

Gou was wandering in the garden when he saw two things that seemed peculiar to him. Number one, the fountains and number two, the guy.

He saw the fountains first. They were made out of stone. The first one was the shape of a dragon, a bit like dragoon, but somewhat different. The second one was a lion with one paw raised in the air. For normal people, they were just regular fountains made of stone but to Gou they were different. The first time he passed them he just got a strange feeling. However, when he passed them again Gou could swear those fountains were not normal. He saw a dragon flying around the dragon fountain. It wasn't exactly a complete shape, more like a ghost. The same thing happened with the lion. A green lion standing behind the stone statue. He shook his head and the spirits were gone.

'Must be daydreaming,' Gou thought to himself.

The next strange thing Gou saw was the guy. He was standing across the garden, leaning against the wall in a position very much like Gou's, except for the fact that his hands were in his pockets. He had shoulder length scarlet hair and eyes the color of wine. He was wearing a black mantled trench coat over a red shirt and black pants. He looked straight into Gou's eyes as if to say: 'I'm watching you, Hiwatari.'

A high pitched voice yelled, momentarily distracting Gou.

"Long time no see, Gou!" Rin yelled. Gou rolled his eyes and looked back, expecting to find the scarlet haired guy, but there was no one there.

He could hear Rin's voice saying, "Come on! Break's almost over." He was so lost in his thoughts that Rin's voice sounded far away even though she was standing right next to him. She dragged him to Tyson, Max and another guy with black hair. Next to him was a woman with long pink hair.

"This is my dad, Ray. And this is my mum, Mariah." Rin introduced. "Mom, Dad, this is Gou Hiwatari. My friend."

"I'm not your friend," Gou said but Mariah was already squealing.

"You're Gou. Look how tall you've gotten. Last time I saw you, you were a whinny little baby." Gou's expression was clear. He definitely didn't like being called 'a whiny little baby'.

"Hello, Gou. It's nice to finally meet you." Ray said and extended his hand. Gou shook it reluctantly.

"Hey there!"Max yelled, suddenly appearing behind Gou. "I'm Max…"

"Max Tate," Gou finished for him, "The adult who acts like a kid. Easy to remember."

"Hey guys!" they all heard Kouren's high pitched voice. She jogged over to them, Kenny huffing and puffing behind her.

"Hi…guys," he wheezed.

"Check this out!" She exclaimed as she showed all of them a video. "The European tournament is being broadcast worldwide. Ren Katsuragi is really making an impression."

Alarm bells rang inside Gou. "Hold it. Ren Katsuragi?" he asked. Kouren nodded and pointed to a figure. Sure enough it was him. He had the same long scarlet hair and wine eyes. He was even wearing the black mantled trench coat.

Gou's mind was going to explode. This simply didn't make sense. He was sure that guy had just been here mere moments ago. What was happening here?

Tyson pulled him out of his thoughts, "Guys, break's almost over. Where are Makoto and Markie?"

"Makoto ate too much and had to go to the toilet." Kouren explained.

"Watcha watchin'?" Tyson asked.

"The European Qualification tournament." Kouren answered.

"Pft," Tyson said. "that Katsuragi kid's just a big show-off."

"You're just jealous 'coz that 'kid' outshines you at everything, Tyson," Max said with a smile.

"I'm not competing with him. He's freakin' sixteen!"

"Yup." Max said. "Chairman of the European Beyblade Association at age sixteen. It's almost as though he's deliberately trying to steal the spotlight from you."

"He doesn't need to steal it," Kenny said. "He's already got more than enough of it."

"Oh yeah," Ray joined in. "He's the kid who won three World Championships in a row."

"Yeah," Kenny said. "The first when he was eleven, the second when he was twelve and the third when he was thirteen."

"Tyson, on the other hand, was struggling to get a hold of Dragoon at age thirteen," Max laughed.

"Gou, where's Kai?" Ray asked.

"He's gone on some stupid business trip." Gou replied.

"Who are you staying with, sweetie?" Mariah asked in that mom-like way of hers.

"I don't need anyone." Gou replied.

"So you're living alone?" Kenny guessed.

At that moment Daichi appeared.

"Hey, guys! Break's almost over."

 **x.x.x**

"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the semi finals of the Japanese Qualification Tournament!" Daichi yelled on the microphone. "The people who have made it this far are…" He gave one of his dramatic pauses, though everyone knew the answer.

"…Gou Hiwatari, Rin Kon, Markus Tate and Makoto Granger! Now let's see who will fight whom." Daichi picked up the remote and pressed the button. Two names appeared on the screen.

"The matches have been decided! Rin Kon versus Gou Hiwatari and Makoto Granger versus Markus Tate!"

"I'm gonna crush you!" Rin said.

"Oh. I'm trembling with fear," Gou said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Three…two…one! Let it rip!" Daichi said and the teenagers launched their blades into the dish.

Gou made an offensive start, attacking Rin's blade from all directions, giving her no time to defend herself.

"I thought you were gonna crush me. Is this all you've got?" Gou asked. Rin gritted her teeth. At that moment, Gou saw the lion. The same lion he had seen at the fountain. It was standing behind Rin. Suddenly, Gou knew exactly what to do.

He taunted her even more.

"You're doing even worse than you did at school," he said with a smirk.

"Oh yeah?" Her blade attacked Gou's.

"Is this really the best you can do?" he asked "This is getting boring." He yawned.

"I…will…defeat…you!" Rin yelled. The lion behind Rin floated into her blade, right where the bit beast should be. Her blade glowed golden as the lion rose.

"Drion, lion of wind," Gou muttered. He had no idea how he knew the bit beast's name but he did.

Rin looked stunned. "Wh…What is this?"

"Your bit beast, Drion."

Rin herself had began glowing golden. "Attack, Drion!"

She caught him off guard. Gou wasn't expecting her to react so quickly. His blade flew into the air from the impact, but landed in the dish.

"Time to get serious. Now let me show you my bit beast." he said with a smirk. "Rise, Empress of fire, Drigelle!" The bit beast that rose looked like an ancient Japanese goddess. She had shiny black hair, half of it tied in a bun, the rest of it flowing down to her waist. She wore long red kimono. On her back were two very large wings that seemed to be made entirely of fire.

"Flame of Victory." Gou said.

Rin's blade caught fire. Within a minute the entire dish was burning. Drion seemed to roar with pain.

When the fire died Rin's blade was barely spinning. Drigelle knocked it out of the stadium with a single hit.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's over! The winner is Gou Hiwatari! What a spectacular display of fire."

"I…lost," Rin said, still shocked.

"Well done," they heard a male voice. Ray had made his way down from the bleachers and was standing beside Rin.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you tried your best." Ray reasoned.

"And lost."

"Look on the bright side. You've finally got your very own bit beast." Rin's cheerful side clicked on.

"Yeah!" she yelled, punching the air.

"Thank you, Gou." Ray said with a kind smile.

"Yeah, well it was kinda obvious."

"Umm…I hate to break it to you guys but you need to get back in the audience so we can start Markus and Makoto's match." Daichi announced. Ray looked embarrassed. "Right. Come on, Rin, Gou." He began leading the two teenagers in the audience when Gou said, "I'm not interested." and walked out of the stadium.

However, a few minutes later, Ray saw Gou standing at the top, or rather leaning against the wall, and watching the match. 'I wonder what made him change his mind?' Ray thought.

Well, here's what happened. Gou was just about to leave the stadium when he caught a glimpse of the match and once again he got that peculiar feeling. He didn't just feel it, he saw it as well. The blue dragon behind Makoto wasn't something you could easily miss. If you could see it in the first place, that is.

The two blades clashed against each other and were sent flying. Makoto's blade landed at the edge of the dish and spun its way inside. Markus's blade landed at the edge as well. However, it fell outside. The two bladers looked shocked for a moment, then smiled.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's over. Makoto wins."

"Great match, Makoto." Markus congratulated with a smile.

Makoto scratched his head, embarrassed. "I just got lucky."

 **x.x.x**

Gou and Makoto stood opposite to each other, launcher in hand. Gou raised an eyebrow at Makoto's nervous expression as if to say: Really? Makoto's expression changed as if he was trying to put on a brave face.

"Alright, people. Let's begin!" Daichi yelled in the microphone. "Three…two…one, LET IT RIP!"

The two bladers launched their blades into the dish and Gou noticed Makoto's blade.

"You're not using Dragoon?" he asked.

"No. Dad said it was best if I played it safe and tried a regular blade. Dragoon doesn't always listen to me." That was definitely true.

The two bladers silently watched their blades rotate around the dish, Makoto's blade on the run and Drigelle behind it. When Makoto's blade started going too fast for Drigelle to catch, Drigelle stopped exactly where it was(on Gou's silent command, obviously). Makoto's blade had almost made an entire round and was now headed straight for Gou's Drigelle. Makoto's expression got more and more panicky by the second. He was going too fast to stop so suddenly. The entire arena seemed to be holding its breath. Head on collision in three, two, one…

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the arena as the two blades hit each other with immense force and one of the blades was sent flying. Makoto's blade.

 **x.x.x**

 **So…um…I know this chapter was really weird, but thanks for reading. Since I'm only editing this, it takes me a lot less time to do this.**

 **Please leave a review, even if the story's been completed 'coz I read them no matter what.**

 **Congrats to me for editing three chappies in one day!**

 **Special thanks to Blue Lightning of the Night , Rock the Road and** **ivipoe(guest reviewer) for reviewing.**

 **Until next time (which I get a feeling won't be very long from now)**

 **~Chun =)**


	4. Rise, Dreslogia and Drecale

**Hey everyone! I'm back with chapter 4 of The Bladecrushers.**

 **Special thanks to: Rock the Road, MagicalPhoenix12 and Blue lightning of the night for caring to share their thoughts.**

 **Something I should clear up: Drigelle is not a god or goddess or anything like that. She's an empress; a queen. Another thing: I come up with all the names for the bit beasts. Gou, Rin and all the bit beasts appearing in this chappie (except the Bladebreakers' bit beasts) are not based on anything. The names just popped into my mind.**

 **On with the chapter!**

 **x.x.x**

Makoto thought he was out of it. It seemed pretty obvious. The way Gou had sent him flying, it was as if he had planned all that happen.

But then things took a turn for the better. Due to some reason, unknown to Makoto, Drigelle rushed up and knocked Makoto's blade back into the dish in one expert strike. He looked at Gou, expecting an explanation but Gou's face was unreadable. He had a chance to finish him off right there but he didn't. Why not?

Gou, on the other hand, was just as shocked as Makoto but for entirely different reasons. 'What's he doing here?' he thought to himself as he remembered what made him save his opponent.

FLASHBACK

 _Gou couldn't believe it was already over. He was still dwelling on this when a certain spectator caught his eye. He was leaning against the wall, his arms folded. He had grey bangs and black hair. 'Isn't Kai supposed to be in Russia?' he asked himself. Then he noticed Kai's look. It was almost as if he was saying,_

'I just got here and you decide to end it? Make it last longer.'

 _So that's exactly what he did_.

END OF FLASHBACK

"I'm not letting it end so early," Gou said.

"Why not?" Makoto asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"Because I came here for enjoyment. So far everything's been pretty boring. Makoto Granger, do you have something better to offer?" Gou asked. He could swear he saw Kai raise an eyebrow. Gou simply smirked at his father's gestures.

"You want to see something better, Gou? Fine, then I'll show what I've got!" Makoto said.

But then, something happened.

"What the..." Gou said. Makoto was? _Glowing_! Literally glowing blue.

"I WILL DEFEAT YOU!" Makoto yelled. And that's when it happened. A blue dragon, very much like Dragoon (except for the fact that it seemed to be made out of water), appeared in the dish. Gou breathed out a sigh of relief.

'For once I didn't have to do it myself.' he thought.

Then another peculiar thing happened. The bit beast's name popped into his mind just like that.

"Dreslogia," he muttered.

"I know. Its name is Dreslogia, right?" Makoto confirmed

"How'd you know?" Gou asked.

Makoto pointed to the blade. "It's written there."

"Oh, right."

"I've got my own bit beast! I did it, Dad!" he yelled, pumping his fist in the air. "The real fight begins now, Gou," he said.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, kid." Gou said. He had a bit beast too and he intended to use it.

"Drigelle!" Gou yelled, summoning his own bit beast.

"Dreslogia, attack!" Makoto ordered.

Drigelle was pushed back from the impact, but managed to counter attack.

"Drigelle, Flame of Victory," Gou said, raising an arm in the air (like all bladers do when they call off the big moves).

Makoto looked panicked. So far this had been the move Gou had used to beat everyone in the tournament. He may not have said the name of the move but Makoto knew it was the one he had defeated Augustus Fahrenhart with. Rin had been helpless against this move as well. He needed something fast. Water.

Makoto felt like slapping himself. 'Dreslogia is a water dragon! How could I have been so stupid?' he thought to himself.

"Big, big, REALLY BIG wave!" Makoto yelled. Gou's expression told that he was trying hard not to laugh. Well the name was stupid but coming up with smart stuff wasn't his thing. Not to mention, he was in a tough situation.

Dreslogia provided Makoto with nothing less than what he'd asked for. The wave was indeed one of the biggest waves he'd ever seen. Flame against water. Things seemed to be in Makoto's favor.

Gou, on the other hand, was as confident as always. Sure, the wave seemed big but so were his flames. Which is why he was so surprised when the wave extinguished his flames.

It started normally enough. The wave was headed straight for Drigelle. Gou stood calmly, his hands crossed. Then it all happened suddenly. Dreslogia's wave putting out Drigelle's flames, the dish overflowing with water and the water reaching Gou. As the latter happened, Gou jumped and back flipped, ending up at least five feet away from the dish causing Kai to mutter, "Show-off."

Gou, however, was too shocked to have noticed. A _kid_ who had barely spent five minutes with his bit beast had stopped one of his best moves.

'Looks like he _did_ inherit Tyson's talent. Well, at least some of it,' he thought. He couldn't help but smirk as he imagined his father's expression after Kai saw what he had in store.

"Drigelle, Blazing Gig!" he said as the dish erupted in flames.

"What the hell?" Kai exclaimed.

A blade was thrown out. This was Dreslogia. Gou glanced at his father's shocked expression then smirked, satisfied. He raised his hand and his blade flew into it.

"A...And it's over. Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this match and the Japanese Qualification Tournament is Gou Hiwatari!" Daichi yelled.

"Ah man, I lost," Makoto said, not bothered.

"Hey, Gou!" Daichi yelled.

"What?" Gou yelled back. Respecting elders was not the first lesson taught in the Hiwatari household.

"Um.. we don't have a fire extinguisher."

"Oh...Makoto!"

"Yeah?" the boy answered.

"Mind if I see your blade?" Gou asked.

"Uh...sure." he said. He was probably too busy wondering why Gou hadn't just said 'Hey kid, gimme your blade.'

Gou took the blade and set it on his launcher. Then, he launched Dreslogia into the dish.

"Uh...Gou, you can't control a blade that's not yours. You saw what happened when I tried to control Dragoon." Makoto warned. Gou smirked. His crimson eyes glowed.

"Rise, Dreslogia!" Gou ordered.

The dragon rose.

"Take out that flame, Dreslogia," Gou calmly ordered.

Water filled the dish, extinguishing the flames. He raised his hand and the blade flew into his palm. His eyes stopped glowing.

"Happy?" he asked Daichi.

"Uh...yeah. Thanks, kid." Daichi replied. He'd just met Gou yet the teen had proved to be one of a kind.

Gou threw the blade to Makoto who was staring at him, his mouth agape. "How'd you do that?"

Gou shrugged.

"So that decides it, people. The four bladers that will be representing Japan are..." he gave one of his over-dramatic pauses before continuing,"...Markus Tate, Rin Kon, Makoto Granger and Team Captain Gou Hiwatari!"

"What!" Gou exclaimed. "Why me?"

"'Coz' you won the tournament, of course."

Gou glared, not at Daichi but at Tyson. "Explain," he demanded.

Tyson sighed and came to the arena. "What is there to explain? You won. That makes you the strongest. So... you're the captain."

The crowd cheered as if Tyson had just announced that Japan had just won the World Championships.

Rin walked into the arena, accompanied by Markus. "I think you should do it, Gou." she encouraged, giving him a friendly pat on the back.

"It's not like you have a choice anyway, Mister Hiwatari." Max said, suddenly appearing behind him.

Gou rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever."

"Yay" Max cheered. Gou rolled his eyes yet again.

"Now all we need is a proper name." Markus said.

"How about The Four Ds?" Rin suggested.

"No offence, dear, but that's not exactly the best name." Ray sweat dropped. Yes, he had also made his way into the arena.

"How about The Sacred Four?" Tyson suggested.

"That's a pathetic name, Tyson." Tyson turned around and found Kai leaning against the wall.

"Kai, weren't you in Russia?" Max asked.

"I can come back, you know." Kai said emotionlessly. Max sweat dropped.

"How about...The Bladecrushers?" Makoto said.

"Great!" Rin exclaimed, liking the idea.

"Fine by me too," Markus said.

"What about you Gou?" Daichi asked. All of his teammates were down there so he wasn't gonna be left out.

"Yeah. Tell them, Captain," Kai mocked.

"Shut up, Kai." Gou said. "I don't care one way or the other," he replied to the rest.

"He calls you by your name?" Tyson asked, his expression betraying his shock.

"Obviously," Kai said.

"Then its settled." Makoto said.

"I swear Gou sounded just like you back then, Kai," Tyson whispered.

Sounded just like him? That was an understatement.

 _"Drigelle, Blazing Gig!"_

"Gou, we need to talk. Now!" he declared.

"O...okay." Gou agreed hesitantly.

"Alright, kid. Spill," Kai shot as soon as the two were in the garden.

Gou shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Kai sent his son a death glare. Naturally, he decided to come clear.

"I was practicing with Dranzer," Gou admitted. Kai didn't like people _borrowing_ his 'Most Prized Possession' as he called it.

"Practicing with Dranzer?" Kai repeated it as a question. "How can you practice with a blade you have absolutely no connection with?"

"How can you NOT practice with any old blade?" Gou asked rolling his eyes.

Kai held him by the shoulders and looked at him directly in the eye. He sighed, "Something is definitely wrong with you, Gou."

Gou nodded, impressed by his father's observation. "Uh huh."

 **x.x.x**

Gou woke up at six thirty the next day, which was late by his standards(it was Sunday, in case you're wondering). Usually, he woke up at sunrise. He went into the kitchen and made himself a cup of coffee. His breakfast.  
Then he noticed a sticky note stuck in the fridge:

HAD A LATE NIGHT FLIGHT. BUSINESS TRIP. TAKE CARE.  
FROM KAI  
P.S: DON'T BURN THE HOUSE DOWN, KID.

Gou sighed. He'd only burnt their house _once_ , and that was during a match against Kenji. Neither Kenji nor Kai were gonna let him live it down.

He finished the first chapter and his coffee, then went downstairs to put the cup in the kitchen.  
Just as he was coming out the doorbell rang. Gou opened the door and saw two blondes standing before him.

"Hi, Gou," Max greeted.

"Hey!" Markus said, raising a hand in greeting.

"What brings you here?" Gou asked, though his voice held no emotion.

"Uh...is Kai home?" Max asked.

"No. He left for another business trip."

And that's when Max's phone rang. He excused himself from the two teens and went to pick it up.

"Hi, Kai," he greeted.

"Whatever," Kai grunted on the other line. "Listen. I had to leave urgently, but don't worry you can leave the kid with Gou. He'll take care of Michael."

"Uh...Kai, who's Michael?" Max asked.

"Your son."

Max couldn't help but laugh, "His name is Markus, Kai."

"Whatever, bye."

"Yeah, bye, Kai."

He went back to the house.

"So, Gou, I just talked..."

"You can leave 'im here," Gou offered.

"How'd you..."

"Michael here talks a lot," Gou said.

"My name is Markus," the younger blonde corrected.

"Whatever," Gou said.

Max smiled. Like father, like son.

"You can leave him with me," Gou offered again.

"You sure?" Max asked nervously.

Gou nodded.

"Alright then," he sighed. "Have a good time, kids."

Gou did not have a good time.

As soon as Max left, Markus ambushed Gou with all sorts of questions:

 _Is your dad really a rich businessman?_ or _Is it true that you participated in the World Championships last year?_ Or _How do you get so strong?_ Out of all these Gou only liked one, _Will you have a beyblade match with me?_

So, Gou agreed.

 **x.x.x**

"Three"

"Two"

"One"

"Let it rip!"

They were currently in the backyard of Kai's house. A bey dish had been set and the two teens had started their match.q1q

Gou learnt that although Markus didn't have a bit beast, he did have some good moves up his sleeve. Apparently, the kid had been watching him very closely over the past few days because he had already predicted the aggressive attacks Gou made at the starting of the match.

Another thing Gou learnt: the kid was hyperactive. He kept jumping up and down, saying, 'GO BEYBLADE, GO!' since he didn't have a bit beast, he called his blade _Beyblade_.

In all the excitement, Gou noticed something. The boy was wearing a stone tied to a string around his neck.

"What's that?" Gou asked, which was probably a rude question, but Gou doubted the kid would mind.

"It's a good luck charm." he said cheerfully. "My mom have it to me for my thirteenth birthday."

"Your mother gave you a...stone for your birthday?" Gou asked uncertainly.

Markus nodded, "Yeah. She said it has a bit beast in it."

"How did she know?"

"Well, you see, my mom's a scientist. She works in the EBA, actually. My dad said that my grandma was also a scientist. Mom was her assistant. That's how they met. Anyway, they did some research on these rocks when they were little..."

"Hold it. Who was little?"

"My mom and dad. They were fourteen back then."

"And they saved a piece of rock for you?" Gou asked uncertainly.

"No," Markus said with the tiniest hint of exasperation in his voice. "Recently, my mom found a similar rock. She said she'd rather give it to me then let it fall in the wrong hands."

"And you haven't managed to awaken it yet?"

"No. I don't even know what it is. I just know its name. Mom says I have to figure out the creature by myself." Markus replied gloomily.

Gou's eyes glowed for a fraction of a second. "A turtle," he said, seemingly dazed.

"Uh...what turtle?" Markus asked uncertainly.

"The bit beast in that stone. It's a turtle"

"Oh really? That's so cool. Dad's Draciel is a turtle too."

"In case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of a beyblade battle." Gou reminded. Both of them seemed to have forgotten that.

"Attack, Drigelle!" Gou yelled. Drigelle attacked Markus's 'Beyblade' but could only move it a few inches from its original spot. 'Beyblade' had a strong defence.

"Flame of Victory!" Gou said. "Game over, kid."

"Not yet." Markus said. If it were possible, the kid would have been burning with passion. "I'll awaken _Drecale_."

The stone began to glow. A green spirit flew from the stone into 'Beyblade'.

It came out as a giant turtle. Gou's jaw dropped as he saw how Drecale defended itself from Drigelle's flames. A stone shield appeared from the earth and covered Drecale completely.

"Wow!" Markus exclaimed

Gou smirked. He always loved a challenge. Drigelle started to circle the full length of the dish, flames all around it. It moved faster and faster until the entire dish was on fire.

"Engulf it in flames, Drigelle!" Gou ordered.

"Yikes," Markus said.

When the smoke cleared out Drigelle was spinning in the centre of the dish. Drecale lied at Markus's feet, scorched and burnt.

"Aw...I lost," Markus complained, though he didn't seem bothered by it.

"You gave me a challenge though, Markus," Gou admitted. Markus must have really impressed him because Gou didn't admit that he had difficulty defeating a person.

"Hey, you said my name right," Markus realized.

Gou simply shrugged and started walking towards the house.

"Where are you going?" the blonde asked, running after the older teen.

"Inside, obviously." Gou replied, hands deep in his pockets.

So Markus followed him inside.

"Gou, did you know Kouren's gonna be our team mechanic," Markus told Gou when they reached inside.

"Good for you, then. You'll have all your friends with you." Gou said emotionlessly.

That day Gou realized that even though Markus was what Gou would call 'annoyingly cheerful', he was the most mature one out of his two friends(Rin and Makoto).

"Hey, Gou," Markus called. "If you ever meet Ren Katsuragi, I have a feeling you'll hate him."

Gou perked up, "Why?"

"My mom works for him at the EBA. When I go to see my mom I have to endure him. He's just a big show-off. And an even bigger jerk. I just know you'll hate him."

That day Gou learned that Markus Tate was way smarter than he let on because he was correct. When Gou eventually will meet Ren Katsuragi, he'll definitely hate him.

 **x.x.x**

 **Chapter finished! Hope you guys like it. I know it's a mess and I'm not gonna mind if you tell me that so...tell me what I lack. I like constructive** **criticism.**

 **Next chapter:**

 **First stop, China**

 _A certain group of beybladers has defeated Lee's old Chinese team. Who are they?_

 **Until next time, fellas!**

 **~Chun ;)**


	5. First stop, China

First stop, China

 _ **This chapter is dedicated to both my brothers without whom I would never have stumbled upon Beyblade.**_

 **Hey guys! Sorry I'm late. Here's the new chappie. Took more time than expected. Anyway, thanks Rumu for the review. MagicalPhoenix12 sent me a PM so thanks for that too. There's a small..okay BIG surprise in this chapter! Hope u like it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade.**

 **x.x.x**

"We're in China!" Rin yelled as soon as they stepped out of the airport.

"Yup," Tyson said. "I wonder if we'll find Lee and his friends here." (Mr D used to travel everywhere with them so Tyson has to do the same, right?)

"I talked to Uncle Lee and he said that none of the bladers from the village were able to make it to the team," Rin said rather sadly.

"Man, I'm hungry!" Makoto groaned.

"Me too," Tyson agreed.

"I wanna eat too!" Rin whined.

Gou rolled his eyes. "Idiots.

 **x.x.x**

After lunch they checked in at the hotel and explored the surrounding area. Rin insisted on greeting every person they passed by going, "Ni hao! Ni hao!" after each second.

But before long, it started to get annoying. Naturally, Gou was the first one to get pissed.

"Shut up, Rin. Just shut up!" Gou said, his temper finally wearing thin.

Rin seemed taken aback. "But I wanna greet 'em." she protested.

Gou gave her a menacing glare. "Fine. Greet all you want." he said as he turned around and walked off.

"So...what now?" Kouren asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence, much to everyone's relief.

"Should we tell Dad?" Makoto asked.

"I'm sure Gou can find his way back."

"Is my greeting that annoying?" Rin asked.

Her friends shifted uncomfortably. "Well...I'm not sure how to put this, Rin," Kouren began, "But maybe you should stop greeting strangers. Not that we mind," she added hurriedly. "It's just that...you know...greeting strangers can be...dangerous." she stammered. Markus and Makoto nodded vigorously to show their support.

"Very, very dangerous," Makoto said.

"Unimaginable things can happen to you," Markus warned.

"Whatever," she said, then her eyes widened in realization. "Oh my...Did you see that?" she asked.

"See what?" Kouren asked.

"I sounded just like Gou! This is bad. Very bad." she said shaking her head gravely.

Makoto, Markus and Kouren laughed at their friend's antics.

 **x.x.x**

Gou sighed as he wandered aimlessly through the Chinese streets. Then he heard a sound. The sound of metal clashing. Gou reached a nearby alley and found a group of teens and preteens gathered around a dish. A blade flew out and a thirteen-year-old fell to the ground mumbling, "I lost. How could I lose?"

"Yay! I won!" a boy shouted. When Gou looked at him, he got numerous shocks at once.

Shock number 1: the boy's size. He couldn't have been more than 9. In fact, as Gou thought more about it he realized that the boy was probably less than 9.

Shock number 2: the boy's title. He was called .'The Tiger'. Maybe he had a tiger bit beast? Still, he was rather young to have such respect.

Shock number 3: the amount of people who feared him. For someone so young, there were an awful lot of people who were afraid of him. Everyone in the alley feared him because of his strength. amazingly, though, the boy seemed oblivious to this.

Now Gou wanted to know what this kid was made of.

The kid noticed him. "Ni hao!" he greeted. His cheerful way reminded him of Rin.

One of the boys bent down and whispered something in his ear.

"Oh," the boy seemed to be in deep thought.

"Well, hello then. Are you a foreigner?" he asked.

"Uh huh."

"Awesome! Where'd you come from?"

"Japan," Gou answered. He didn't like being interviewed by a little boy.

"Cool! Can you beyblade."

"Yeah," Gou answered emotionlessly.

"Then, you'll fight me, right?" he sounded hopeful.

"I guess."

"Three, two, one," the crowd chanted in unison.

"Let it rip!"

For someone nicknamed 'The Tiger', the boy's bit beast's name was ridiculously funny. If Gou wasn't an expert at hiding his emotions, he would have fallen to the ground laughing.

"Attack him, Mr Tingy Poo!" the boy yelled.

'Seriously?' Gou thought.

Drigelle effortlessly dodged his attack.

"Wow!" the boy said, impressed. "Rise! Mr Tingy Poo!"

The creature itself was just as hilarious as its name; A chibi tiger with four yellow wheels instead of legs. It had a big, fat, round face with two big, cute eyes, a big brown nose and a mass of white fur where its mouth should have been with three dots on each sides instead of whiskers.

It's body was not covered in black stripes like that of a regular tiger. Instead, there was a blob of brown, as if someone had spilled brown paint in a really organized manner. The lower part of his back served as a resting point for its tail. There was a picture of the tiger's face was made on either side of its back. It was officially the most ridiculous bit beast Gou had ever seen.

"Now, Mr Tingy Poo's special attack. Tiger..." His attack was cut short by a female voice and another beyblade.

"Oh no you don't," the girl said as her blade knocked the younger boy's blade out.

She had dark, wavy hair that reached the middle of the back and a pair of navy blue glasses with orange details. She had some resemblance to the boy since their hair color was the same but other than that, they looked nothing alike. She was around Kouren's age and was accompanied by another girl with straight dark hair tied in a ponytail. She wore a brown pair of spectacles.

"B-san, how many times have I told you not to run off like that! Mama was worried about you!" the girl said again.

The girl with the brown hair quietly watched all of it looking uncomfortable.

"Sorry, everyone but this idiot is wanted at home. And don't worry, Gou. You can fight him in the first round of the championships." and with that the trio exited.

Drigelle flew into Gou's hand. "I'm outta here."

"Hold it!" one of the kids said.

"What?"

"Do you know who those guys were?"

"No," Gou decided rather suspiciously.

"That's Team ChunHouHua. They're representing China. That boy was Ma Hou Sheng, he's eight, by the way. The girl with the ponytail and brown glasses was Li Hua and that other girl was Ma Hou Sheng's elder sister and the team captain. Her name is Ma Chun Xia."

"So, is there anyone else on the team?" Gou asked.

"Sun Sui Yuan. He's their coach and he's the Ma siblings' elder brother. At least that's what she told us."

"I see.." Gou was cut off when his phone rang. He walked out of the alley and saw the caller's ID.

Tyson. 'What does he want?' Gou thought. 'On second thought, I don't wanna know.'

So he ingnored the phone and decided to get back to the hotel.

As soon as he entered the room he was greeted by five worried faces all yelling in unison, "Where were you?"

"Somewhere."

"Honestly, Gou. You need to stop going off like that. I was worried. And you didn't even pick up my phone." Tyson said.

"How did you even get my phone number?" Gou asked.

"I asked Kai." Tyson replied simply.

"I've done some research on our opponents." Kouren announced. "Their name is Team ChunHouHua."

"And they have an eight year old child and two little girls with glasses?" Gou confirmed.

"Y..yeah. How did you know?

"I met them," Gou answered casually.

"You met them?" Markus asked/exclaimed.

"Well, if they're all a bunch of children then they should be easy to defeat," Makoto decided.

Kouren opened her laptop and started typing. "Their captain is called...Ma Chun…how do you pronounce this?" Kouren asked.

Rin came over and peeked. "Ma Chun Xia."

She pronounced it as 'Shia'.

"Okay...so Team Captain Ma Chun...Xia, an...wait, they have an eight year-old on the team?" Kouren asked incredulously.

"The World Championship is not a joke!" Makoto said. "And it's not exactly a piece of cake either."

"Look who's talking," Gou muttured.

"I heard that!"

"Guys!" Kouren yelled. "Listen, Ma Chun Xia, the eight year old boy Ma Hou Sheng..."

"Are they related?" Markus cut in.

"Yes," Gou said. "They're siblings."

"And the third member of the team is a girl called Li Hua," Kouren finished through gritted teeth.

 **x.x.x**

"Here, Gou. Take this." Tyson said, handing Gou an envelope.

Gou opened and read it. "An invitataion to meet Team China? What are they up to?" Gou asked.

"I dunno, Gou but you'd better go." Tyson suggested. "Take the team with you."

"Of course I'm taking the team!" Gou said.

"O..kay. I'll tell them that." Tyson said. He hadn't thought Gou would've been interested in taking them along after what had happened that afternoon so he was surprised.

 **x.x.x**

"Welcome, Bladecrushers!" an enthusiastic girl greeted them in the street. She had wavy dark hair that reached mid-back and brown eyes. She wore a baggy red shirt and pink tights. A multi-colored scarf was wrapped around her neck. Her long fingernails were painted red. Gou easily recognized her as the girl from before. "My name is Ma Chun Xia, but you can call me Chun. I'm Team ChunHouHua's leader." she introduced herself, finishing the last part with a hint of pride.

She led them to a park with beyblade dishes spread all over the place.

"This is a beyblade park. We have loads of these all over Beijing. And the rest of China too." she smiled.

"Hang on," Rin said looking around frantically. "We're not in Hong Kong?" she asked as if it had just occurred to her that she must know her location.

"Yeah, dumbo," Makoto said.

"You didn't know where we were?" Markus asked in disbelief.

"For your information, we're in Beijing. Tyson wanted to take us to the forbidden City." Gou put in.  
"You're Chinese and you don't know where the Forbidden City is?" Chun asked in surprise.  
"Well..I..don't care about stupid cities. Who wants to know where a 'forgotten city' is, anyway?" Rin defended.

Ma Chun Xia sweat dropped nervously. "Right. Of course. Come one then. I'll introduce you to my teammates."

She lead them into the park until they saw the boy Gou had battled, the girl with the brown spectacles and a young man of about twenty-five with short, dark curly hair and dark eyes.

"This is Team ChunHouHua." she said. "This idiot Gou met yesterday is Ma Hou Sheng. He's my brother." she said earning a pout from her younger brother and a somewhat stern look from the man. She pointed to the man next, "This is my elder brother, Sun Sui Yuan. He's our coach. And she's Li Hua. She's my friend from school but I taught her how to beyblade and she's making good progress."

Li Hua smiled. "Nice to meet you," she said shyly.

"So...um...what now?" Makoto asked.

"Why don't you introduce yourselves?" Sun Sui Yuan suggested.

Ma Chun Xia smiled somewhat mischievously. "Allow me," she said scanning the group of Japanese bladers to see their expressions.

"This is Kouren," she began, pointing to the blue haired girl. "This is Makoto, he's Tyson's son," she said pointing to Makoto causing both her brothers to roll their eyes.

"Seriously, man. Tyson? He's so stupid!" Ma Hou Sheng whined.

"Hey! Watch it, kid." Makoto warned.

"Who is Tyson?" Li Hua asked, clueless.

"Tyson's a stupid guy." Ma Hou Sheng said causing their coach to nudge him meaningfully and making him add, "Well he's also one of the strongest Beybladers ever. but mostly, he's an idiot."

"How do you know all this?" Rin asked.

'It's called research," the girl replied caressing her long fingernails.

'Wanna finish what you started, Gou?" Ma Hou Sheng asked.

"No thanks," Gou replied cleverly. "I don't fight kids."

The 'kid' pouted. He obviously didn't like being called that.

Gou had expected the Chinese team to challenge them to some beyblade battles or something of that sort but it appeared that they were more willing to act as their tour guides. The Bladecrushers ended up visiting the Forbidden City. The Chinese team showed them some famous sights and ended the tour by showing them the Hiwatari Enterprise office building.

"He is _such_ a show off," Gou muttered.

"I think it's quite impressive," Li Hua said.

MaChun Xia stared at her friend. "Don't tell me this is the first time you've been here, Z-chan!"

"It is," Li Hua admitted.

"Man, Gou! Your dad is _rich_!" Makoto remarked.

"Ironic, coming from the son of the BBA's chairman," Gou said back.

 **x.x.x**

"Alright!" Makoto exclaimed, punching the air as he got out of the bus before everyone else. "It's finally Tournament Day!"

Gou stepped out of the bus after everyone else. "Shut up, Makoto!"

Rin snickered while Markus and Kouren sweat-dropped.

"So, Gou. You still haven't decided what order we're gonna play in," Markus reminded.

"I _have_ decided." Gou said with a glare. "I just haven't told you."

They went inside the stadium.

"Welcome, Ladies and gentlemen, to the first round of the World Championships here in China. I'm Daichi, your Blader DJ. Now let's welcome the teams." Daichi yelled on the microphone.

"Representing Japan, please welcome The Bladecrushers, led by none other than Gou Hiwatari!" the Bladecrushers walked into the arena.

"Representing China, please welcome Team ChunHouHua. These kids have just appeared in the beyblade world and are still new to the game! However, they show great skill and improvement."

Gou was observing the scene uninterestedly when he felt someone poke him in the small of his back. He turned around and found himself face to face with Kouren.

"Our battle order, Captain Hiwatari?" she asked with a hint of irritation in her voice.

"Don't call me that!" Gou said. Then he smirked. "Markus, Makoto then Rin."

"But, Gou. Most people send their strongest in the end. Isn't that what they're expected to do?" Kouren asked.

"That _is_ what most people do. Which is why they won't do it," he said. " their order is...slightly different."

"You know their order?"

Gou simply smirked and turned away.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the first match of the tournament is about to get underway! From the Bladecrushers we have Markus Tate! And from Team ChunHouHua we have...team captain MA CHUN XIA! Daichi yelled, surprising the crowd.

"What!" Markus exclaimed.

"Their sending their strongest already?" Kouren excliaimed/asked.

"The leader ain't always the strongest, you know," Gou reminded.

Markus walked to the dish.

"Bladers, on your mark, get set and..." Daichi exclaimed.

"Let it rip!" Markus and Chun exclaimed in unison, launching their blades into the dish.

 **x.x.x**

 **End of chappie! Ah man, this one took way too long. Yay...this is the fourth chapter I've edited today and i hope you like it. I am so NOT like the Ma Chun Xia I've shown.**

 **Ma Hou Sheng really is my younger brother and Li Hua really is one of my best friends and Sun Sui Yuan really is my older brother. This fanfic wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my bros 'coz I thought that Beyblade was a stupid kids' show but then one day I caught my younger brother watching it and I watched it with him and my elder brother. When the episode finished Eldie, my elder brother started giving me details on the next episode and the next day we watched it on the internet and I've been a crazy fan ever since.**

 **Anyway, leave a lovely review. They always make me happy. Oh..and another thing: constructive criticism is always welcome('coz I think u guys are holding back, I'm not as good as your reviews say, but I love them!)**

 **~Ar chan:)**


	6. The Bladecrushers vs Team ChunHouHua

Chapter 6: Bladecrushers vs ChunHouHua

 **Hey, guys! A warning: this chapter can turn out to be…not very likeable. I'll admit, this is the shortest chapter yet.**

 _ **I should tell you that Ma Hou Sheng's bit-beast, Mr Tingy Poo is based on this toy tiger I have.**_

 _ **Mei Gui means 'rose' in Chinenese**_

 **Special thanks to:**

 **MagicalPhoenix12 and Rock the Road. You guys have supported me from the beginning. I luv u guys:)**

 **x.x.x**

"Let it rip!" the two bladers yelled as they launched their blades.

"Attack, Falcon!" Chun Xia yelled. The blade charged for Drecale.

"Dodge it, Drecale," Markus ordered. Drecale turned aside just in time.

Ma Chun Xia's blade moved towards the edge of the dish and finally flew upwards. Markus was supposed to be

happy but his opponent's expression made him uncertain. A determined smile made its way to Ma Chun Xia's lips.

"Fly, Falcon!"

The white beyblade flew higher and higher.

"Now, Falcon," she ordered. "Strike him down!"

Gou smirked. "Rookie mistake."

Chun's Falcon dropped, probably hoping to attack Drecale from the sky, heading straight for Markus who failed to do what Gou was expecting of him. What he did do, however, was panic.

"What do I do? What do I do?"

"Markus!" Tyson yelled from the bleachers, "Remember Max's motto!"

"Dad's motto? That's right." Markus said. "Now, Drecale!"  
A wall of rock appeared above Drecale, knocking Falcon straight off its course.

"You know what my Dad always says, Chun?" he asked.

Chun smirked, "Defense is the best offense?"

Markus smiled, "Yup."

They continued to hit each other with small, evenly matched strikes until Chun Xia called off another attack.

"Fly, Falcon!" she ordered again.

"Do you seriously think I'll fall for the same trick twice?" Markus asked.

Chun Xia's eyes glinted mischievously. "But it's not the same trick, you know."

"What?"

Sun Sui Yuan face palmed. "Honestly!"

"Drecale...uh...do whatever you did a few minutes back," Markus ordered uncertainly.

The same wall of rock appeared yet again, however Chun Xia was prepared.

"Strike it down, Falcon!" she exclaimed.

A thunderbolt dropped from the sky and fell directly on Drecale's defence, destroying it completely in one single strike.

'Sheer strength doesn't work,' Markus thought to himself. 'But quick thinking will!'

"Alright, Drecale! Move it!" he yelled.

"What!"

Drecale turned aside just in time. Falcon crashed into the stadium floor with immense force and stopped spinning. It was stuck in the floor.

"N..no way!" Chun Xia exclaimed. "That totally backfired!"

"Yeah, well, I told you it was a risky move," Sun Sui Yuan replied calmly. For someone who had just lost the first match even after sending the captain, that guy was calm enough to make Gou suspicious.

"That was pathetic," Ma Hou Sheng commented as he passed by.

"Hey! Cut me some slack, okay."

Sun Sui Yuan looked pointedly at Ma Hou Sheng and nodded as if he agreed.

"No fair, Eldie. You told her it was pathetic why can't I?" the boy asked.

"I have no recollection of telling her it was pathetic. I simply told her it was a bad move." the coach argued back.

Li Hua sweat dropped.

Chun Xia stuck out her tounge,"Yay! Eldie's on my side!"

Ma Hou Sheng rolled his eyes while Li Hua sighed. "Grow up, Ar-chan."

"That was great, Markie!" Makoto said, hitting his friend's back playfully.

"Yeah, that was great." Kouren said.

"You took way too long," Gou said.

"S..sorry. I..I'll admit I was a little nervous," Markus said honestly.

"Hey! He won. What else do you want?" Makoto asked, angry.

Gou simply rolled his eyes and ignored his teammate.

"Next match: Ma Hou Sheng against Makoto Granger!" Daichi announced.

"Oh yeah!" Makoto yelled, punching the air. "I'm up next!"

Makoto didn't have Gou's talent when it came to hiding emotions, so, naturally, he burst out laughing as soon as his eight-year-old opponent called...

"Attack, Mr Tingy Poo!"

"Is...this...some...kind of...trick?" Makoto asked between giggles.

"What's some kind of trick?" Ma Hou Sheng asked innocently.

"The name. It can't...possibly be your bit beast's real name."

"Mr Tingy Poo?" the boy asked. "Of course it's his real name! Why would you think otherwise?"

"N..nevermind," Makoto said, scratching his head.

"Mr Tingy Poo, take 'im down!"

"Dreslogia, rise!" Makoto ordered, and the blue dragon rose from the bit-chip.

"No way! A dragon! That is soo AWESOME!" Ma Hou Sheng squealed in excitement. "I've always wanted

a dragon!"

"Focus," Sun Sui Yuan said from his spot.

"I'm focusing, alright!" Ma Hou Sheng yelled back.

Makoto took the opportunity, "Attack, Dreslogia!"

"Ah...Mr Tingy Poo!" Ma Hou Sheng sounded somewhat concerned.

"Now, Dreslogia! Big, big, REALLY BIG WAVE!"

The enormous wave filled the stadium with water. As the water flowed out, Makoto either expected a stadium out or a sleep out. He was mistaken.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Makoto unleashed his best move but was not successful in defeating little Ma Hou Sheng. Infact, he's spinning almost as good as ever, barely effected!" Daichi annonced.

"Hey!" Ma Hou Sheng protested. "Who are you callin' little?"

Daichi sweat dropped.

"Alright, then! Time for my big move!" the eight-year-old boy yelled. "Mr Tingy Poo, Tiger Punch!"

The orange beast literally punched Dreslogia out of the dish with one mighty swing of his paw **(kinda pathetic for a dragon to get kicked out, but I need to extend this to three battles so the chapter isn't too tiny. I have nothing against Makoto).**

Dreslogia flew out of the dish and onto the stadium floor.

STADIUM OUT!" Daichi yelled. "It's over. The winner, Ma Hou Sheng. Both teams are now tied with one win and one loss."

"Bummer," Makoto muttered as he made his way back to his team.

"You did great out there, Makoto," Markus told him, truing to cheer him up.

Kouren nodded in agreement, "Yeah."

"I disagree," Rin said. "That _kid_ literally wiped the floor with you."

Makoto looked down.

"I doubt you even know the meaning of that phrase," Gou said, emotionless as always. "Though, that was pretty pathetic."

"Next match: Li Hua versus Rin Kon. Get ready to see some girl power, folks!" Daichi announced.

"I get to fight Flower Girl?" Rin asked. As much as she loved to beyblade, she didn't sound very excited.

"Flower Girl?" Kouren asked

"Li Hua. I'm guessing Li's her surname, which makes Hua her...well, real name. And in Chinese Hua means flower."

"That's a nice name," Kouren remarked.

"That's a stupid name," Makoto said.

"Hua literally means flower. Literally!"

"I still think it's a pretty name." Kouren said.

"Uh...Rin," Daichi reminded.

Rin blushed, "Oh...right."

She walked to the dish.

"Ready?" Daichi asked.

"Yup," they answered.

"Three,"

"Two!"

"One!"

"LET IT RIP!"

They launched into the dish, Rin making the first move.

"Attack, Drion!"

"Aah...dodge it, Mei Gui!"

The blade moved aside but Rin was prepared. She followed the blade and managed to succeed.

"Mei Gui, attack now!"

"Mei Gui as in rose?" Rin asked.

"Yeah," Li Hua answered.

"Suits you. Rise Drion!"

Bad move.

"Now, Mei Gui. Poison Rose Attack!"

With that command, large numbers of plants sprouted from the surface of the dish. Rose plants. They simply appeared from the floor and caught hold of the lion. Drion roared in protest.

"DRION!"Rin called, eyes wide with concern.

"Oh no! This is bad," Makoto said.

"Yeah," Kouren said, furiously typing on her computer. "This can be very bad for Drion."

Gou seemed unconcerned. "This battle is over. And Rin will win"

She looked around frantically until she felt a gust of wind blowing her hair. The determined shine returned to her eyes as she yelled,

"Drion, run like the wind!"

The blade ran around the stadium before Li Hua's Mei Gui could capture it in its plant trap. An intense wind began blowing around the stadium. A miniature tornado now surrounded Drion.

"N..no way," Li Hua stammered.

"Whoa.." Rin stared. "Awesome!"

"Aah! Z-chan, do something," Chun Xia yelled.

"I'd like to see you try!" Hua yelled back.

Their captain simply rolled her eyes.

"Drion, finish it off!" Rin yelled.

The air grew even more intense and seemed to be pulling Mei Gui towards it. Upon making contact with the blade, Drion sent the 'Rose' flying. It landed out of the dish.

"The winner: Rin!" Daichi announced.

Rin was breathing rather heavily, clearly exhausted, but she managed a smile.

She raised an arm with apparent struggle and said, "That was great, Drion."

The Bladecrushers (minus Gou) ran to Rin.

"You did awesome out there," Markus said.

"Thanks," Rin said with visible difficulty. She fell to one knee.

"Hey," Makoto said. "You okay?"

"She's obviously not okay," Gou said, appearing behind them.

"How did you know she was gonna win, Gou?" Kouren asked.

Gou hesitated for a moment, "I...don't know."

Kouren scanned him for a moment. "Alright," she said, unsatisfied.

Gou breathed out a sigh of relief.

FLASHBACK

 _Gou watched as Mei Gui trapped Drion._

 _An image appeared in his mind. Multiple images actually._

 _Drion running around the stadium, a tornado surrounding it, Mei Gui flying out of the dish. He knew exactly who was going to win._

END OF FLASHBACK

"So..where to next?" Makoto asked.

Kouren typed something, "Singapore."

"Yay!" Rin yelled. "I love to travel."

"They're called Team Meteors. Their leader is known to be amazing at controlling water. It's his element."

Gou's eyes widened, "Water?"

Kouren nodded.

"What else can you tell me about him?" Gou asked, uncharacteristically concerned.  
Kouren typed some more, then her face fell. "Nothing."

"How can that be possible?" Makoto asked,

"It's their first match. They just got the team together."

Rin looked disappointed. "Oh."

"Well..we'll just have to hope for the best and fight with all we've got," Markus said, optimistic as always.

"YEAH!" they yelled in unison (except Gou, of course).

 **x.x.x**

 **Chapter finished. I know it was a bit boring but hey, I added some mystery. Gou envisions Rin's victory. How? Also, who is the mysterious leader of the Singaporean Team and why is Gou so interested in him? The answers will be revealed shortly.**

 **Next time:**

 _ **A Singaporean Surprise**_

 _ **Upon setting eyes on the Meteors' mysterious leader, even Gou can't maintain his expressionless mask.**_

 **Until next time, everyone.**

 **~Chun =)**


	7. A Singaporean Surprise

Chapter 7: A Singaporean Surprise

 **Hello, everyone! Ma Chun Xia's back with the seventh chapter of 'The Bladecrushers'!**

 _ **Special thanks to:**_

 _ **MagicalPhoenix12: Yeah! Gou is definitely more mysterious than his father. We'll see the captain of the Singaporean team in this chapter. Hope you like it. Keep the reviews coming!**_

 _ **Rock the Road: I bet Gou wishes his life was as easy as you predicted(no offence). But Gou's vision is not sixth sense. You'll find out more about it in the coming chapters:)**_

 **x.x.x**

"Ah, man!" Makoto groaned. "Where is he?"

"Where's who?" Rin asked, walking into their hotel room, a lollipop in her mouth.

"Gou's gone missing!" Kouren exclaimed.

Tyson spit out his water due to pure shock. "He's what?!"

"I'm worried," Markus said.

"Nooo...not again," Tyson groaned. "Kai used to do this all the time when we were a team. And we could never find him. Eventually he'd turn up on his own, long after we'd given up on finding him."

"But, Uncle Tyson, what if Gou gets lost?" Markus asked.

"He won't. I bet he's probably used to wandering off. Kai's idea of care is a little different than most parents."

"WE'RE FINDING HIM!" they yelled in unison.

"Fine. Why don't you talk to Kai himself." Tyson said as he dialed Kai's number and turned on the speaker.

"What the hell do you want, Tyson. And you'd better be quick about it 'coz I'm busy," came Kai's voice from the phone.

Tyson rolled his eyes, "Gou's gone missing. The kids are worried."

"I'm not a babysitter. It's your job to calm them down," apparently Kai was talking through gritted teeth.

"Where can we find him, Uncle Kai?" Makoto asked.

Kai didn't like this. "I'm not your uncle, kid."

"No one cares. Where do we find him?" Makoto repeated.

"It's simple. You can't. Gou's too unpredictable for a bunch of kids like you." Kai replied.

"Surely you'd know how to find him, Mr Hiwatari." Kouren said.

"I don't have a tracking device." Kai said. "If the kid has wandered off, it's his decision. If he manages to return, which he probably will, then fine. If he doesn't, then it means he's not worth it. It's his fault for getting ahead of himself. Let him suffer a bit. If he doesn't return by nightfall, means he's lost. I'll find him in the morning."

"Umm..how can you find a lost kid in Singapore if you're in Japan?" Tyson asked.

Kai smirked on the other line, "Where do you think Gou gets his unpredictability from?"

Tyson sighed. "You're not in Japan, are you?"

"Nope."

"How can you be so carefree, Kai?" Rin asked.

"Alright. You wanna find him so bad. Go waste your whole day unsuccessfully searching for him. In the end you won't be able to find him. When you'll return, you'll find him at the hotel and he'll give you mouthful for bothering to go after him. I'm pretty sure Hilary and Emily aren't going to like Michael and that other kid learn some new swear words."

Markus groaned. "My name is Markus."

Makoto rolled his eyes. "Hi. I'm Makoto. Have we met?"

"I don't have time for this," Kai mumbled to himself and hung up.

Tyson sighed, "That's Kai for you, kids. Honestly. How does Gou live with that guy?"

"Probably 'coz they're both jerks," Makoto mumbled.

"Since Gou gets to explore and have a good time, we should totally do the same," Rin suggested. The team seemed to like that idea and they all got ready to explore the Singaporean city. They left Tyson behind, regardless of his feelings because they thought he was gonna 'ruin the fun'.

 **x.x.x**

The Bladecrushers wandered aimlessly through the streets. Until...until Makoto's stomach started rumbling.

Markus laughed.

"Ah...man!" Makoto groaned. "I'm hungry! So hungry! We need to eat."

"No," Kouren said. "You need to eat."

"I'm kinda hungry too, you know," Rin admitted.

Markus sweat-dropped.

"Seriously, Rin. You too?" Kouren moaned.

They found a nice fast food restaurant and seated themselves. Makoto eagerly picked up the menu card and Rin leaned in as well.

Markus took a peek too and his eyes widened. "Guys, this is too expensive!"

"No one cares. This is your treat, anyway," Makoto declared.

"Hey, hey! No one said anything about this being me treat! I'm not even hungry yet! Besides, this is too expensive." Markus protested.

"We need to find another restaurant," Kouren decided.

With a lot of moaning and groaning, Markus and Kouren got Rin and Makoto to move out. They began searching for another place.

After various tries they realized that the restaurants which actually had food foreigners were used to eating were too expensive.

In the end, the four beybladers had to settle for a traditional restaurant.

"Alright, Markus," Makoto said rubbing his hands. "Better start counting your money 'coz I'm hungry."

"Hey, I'm not giving anyone a treat!" the blonde protested, making Kouren laugh.

"Why don't you and Kouren divide the money?" Rin suggested.

"Why don't you two super-hungry idiots pay for your own food!" Kouren snapped.

"Great idea! I'm totally with Kouren," Markus said, not eager to waste his pocket money on two hungry teenagers.

A waiter came with the menu card. Rin and Makoto barely took a minute to order their meal.

"I've decided!" Makoto yelled.

"Yeah! Me too," Rin announced.

"Already?" Kouren asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Since its Markus's treat, we're taking everything!"

The waiter's eyes widened in shock. Markus and Kouren sweat-dropped. Markus and Kouren had to order their meals carefully to make sure it didn't exceed their affordability. Soon, the food arrived and Makoto and Rin ate with gusto.

When the waiter arrived with the bill, Markus realized it was too much for him to pay off. However, Rin and Makoto didn't budge and Kouren had to help Markus by 'lending' him some money.

"All my savings gone...just like that. It's not fair!" Markus whined as Kouren tried to comfort him.

"Now that was a good meal," Makoto remarked, patting his full stomach.

"Of course it was," Markus said resentfully.

Kouren sweat-dropped.

 **x.x.x**

"Guys, what's that noise?" Rin asked.

"What noise?" Makoto asked.

"Sounds like someone's having a match!" Markus realized excitedly.

They ran towards the sound and found a bunch of tense looking little kids standing behind a13-year-old girl. The girl's blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Her grey eyes showed her determination. She was fighting two rather dangerous looking men.

"Give up, Girlie," said the man on the right.

"You should listen to my pal," the one on the left advised. "What chance does a little girl like you stand against two of us. We're world class players."

The Bladecrushers inhaled sharply.

"Surely these two bullies aren't part of the Singaporean team," Markus whispered to his friends.

"We can never be sure, Markie," Kouren whispered back.

"I think I know why you think you're world class bladers," the blonde girl said. "One of you made it to

the semi-finals of the Regional Qualification Tournament held in your region, didn't you?"

"Yeah. And we advise you to watch out because you're fighting professional beybladers."

"You suffered a humiliating loss in the regionals," the girl said, "And you lost to my leader!"

The two men stepped back in surprise.

"Finish them off!" the girl ordered her blade. "Tearing Claw!"( **the name totally sucks**.)

The blade went up a wall, flew into the sky. An owl appeared as it was in mid-air and fell on the two blades with incredible speed.

The men stared with shock at the blades which were no longer spinning. The blonde teenager raised her hand and her blade flew into it.

She gave the men a 'Don't-mess-with-me' smirk. "Anneliese Cardew, fourth member of The Meteors, at your service," she said with mock politeness. "Here's a piece of advice: Don't pick fights with _world class bladers_."

With that she jogged off into the street, leaving the Bladecrushers dumbfounded.

 **x.x.x**

A figure in a hooded cloak smirked as the last blade spinning fell out of the dish.

"I believe we had a deal," he said. Blue bangs peeked out from under the hood.

"Listen," a guy with black hair who couldn't have been more than fourteen, said. "We honestly don't know anything about the team. It was a secret."

"You wanna know about the Singaporean team?" a new voice asked. A boy stepped out of the shadows.

He was twelve with messy black hair, his milky white skin almost as pale as bones. He, too, was wearing a cloak.

"I'll give you first hand information about one member. But for that you'll have to tell me about yourself too, okay?"

"Fair enough," the figure said.

The boy threw off his cloak and said, "Nico Castellan. Third member of The Meteors. I also happen to be the youngest member of the Meteors."

He fished out a black object from his jacket pocket. A beyblade. "This is my blade." It had the picture of a vulture on it. He smiled at the hooded individual. "Your turn, now."

The hooded teen sighed. He took off his hood revealing two toned hair that made the younger boy gasp.

"I'm Gou Hiwatari, leader of The Bladecrushers."

"So...that's why..." Nico muttered in a shock. "He's gonna kill me if he finds out. I need to go," he said and walked off into the dark alley, leaving Gou as confused as ever.

It was beginning to get dark so Gou decided to head back to the hotel.

 **x.x.x**

"You sure you know where you're going, Makoto?" Markus asked uncertainly. They were still out in the open and the sun was setting. Makoto had promised to get them all safely to the hotel before nightfall. At that time it had seemed like a great idea. Now...they weren't so sure.

"It's gotta be this way," Makoto pointed to the right. Then he looked at the left, which looked just like the right. "Or maybe it's this way!"

"I'm beginning to feel the disadvantage of not having Gou around," Markus admitted. They had discovered that Gou could navigate his way quite easily through the complicated Singaporean streets.

There was more hope of them getting home with Gou in charge than there was with Tyson.

"Do we at least have a map?" Rin asked, exhausted, as she slumped on the cold pavement.

Kouren exclaimed as an idea began forming in her head. "That's it Rin! You're a genius!"

"I am?" Rin asked. "I mean, of course I am! Uh...why am I a genius?"

Kouren ignored the raven haired teen. "Got it! I found a map on the internet!"

Immediately, all three teenagers were at her side.

 **-A few minutes later-**

"WE'RE LOST!" Kouren exclaimed.

"No..not again," Markus said.

"Kai's observation is pretty good," Rin remarked all of a sudden.

"That was completely irrelevant!" Kouren said.

Makoto seemed to be deep in thought. "Rin's right."

"Mind explaining?" Markus asked.

"Well, yeah...I mean no. Remember what he said? If Gou didn't return by nightfall meant he'd gotten lost. We're not back, and its already nightfall. And we're lost too!"

"Definitely irrelevant!" Kouren commented.

"Hey, guys! Look at that blonde guy over there. Maybe he can give us some directions?" Makoto

guessed.

"It's worth a try," Markus said.

So they all headed towards the 'blonde guy'.

A small note on his appearance: he was around fifteen years of age, with sandy hair and grey eyes that reminded the Bladecrushers of Anneliese Cardew, the girl they'd seen in the afternoon. A scar the shape of a lightning bolt ran down the left side of his cheek. He was the type of guy cheerleaders would squeal about. He was standing at a vending machine and talking to some middle aged guy.

"And how's Annie?" the man was asking.

"Oh she's doing great," the blond haired guy replied.

"Good to hear. So are ya goin' to the championships?" the man asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Annie made it too, though Nico beat her up pretty bad."

"Ah, yes. Nico. How is he?" the man asked.

"He's doing good. The only problem's our captain. He's set on beating the opposition," the guy said with a hint of frustration.

"Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?"

"Well yeah, but it's frustrating too. I mean he wouldn't care about any old team. He wants to beat the

Japanese team. After that, he doesn't care if we win or lose. He just wants to beat their leader."

"Excuse me," Rin said in her sweetest voice. After hearing what this guy had said, Kouren had her doubts about approaching him, but Rin didn't think ahead.

"Could you guide us to.." she nudged Kouren who quickly brought out the map and pointed out the location. "This place? We're kinda lost."

"Of course," the blonde said. "You're very close to it, actually. Just go straight, then turn right. Take the

second turn on the left and you'll see it."

"Thank you," Kouren said with a bow.

"You're the Japanese team, aren't you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You bet!" Makoto exclaimed.

"I'm Luke. Nice to meet you," the blonde teen introduced.

"Nice to meet you too," Markus said, pulling them along quickly. He didn't like this guy. He seemed...cunning.

"Thanks for the help!" Kouren yelled, running after her teammates.

"Anytime!"

 **x.x.x**

They arrived at their room to found Gou leaning against a wall, his eyes closed.

"About time you idiots arrived," he said.

"We went out to look for you 'coz you keep disappearing!" Makoto yelled.

"Not my fault you brats are so over-protective," Gou said calmly.

"Ugh!" Makoto exclaimed and slumped on one of the beds.

"I think you kids need to sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow," Tyson suggested.

Within minutes, the Bladecrushers were all ready for bed.

"Hey, Gou," Kouren said, as she lay on her bed. The lights were off now.

"Yeah?" Gou asked.

"Did you decide the battle order?"

A sigh, "No. I don't know the members of the team."

"We do!" Rin said.

"Yeah," Markus joined in. "We saw this girl called Anneliese Cardew and this blonde boy called Luke who looked pretty much like her and he was talking about the championships so my guess is that he's on the team too."

"Anneliese Cardew, her elder brother Luke Cardew and Nico Castellan. But they're just names," Gou said.

"How do you know Luke is her elder brother?" Makoto asked.

"Informal education," the duo-haired teenager replied.

"Show-off," Makoto muttered.

"No. Seriously," Kouren said. "How do you know?"

"Their parents own some company," Gou answered. "Kai meets him from time to time and somehow, I end up meeting their kids eventually

 **x.x.x**

"Welcome, folks, to the second stage of the World Championships, held here in Singapore!" Daichi announced the next morning. "Now let's introduce the teams!"

Spotlights fell on Makoto. "Please welcome The Bladecrushers consisting of Makoto Granger..." he paused as lights fell on Rin. "Rin Kon..." the spotlights were on Markus now, "Markus Tate...and finally

Team Captain Gou Hiwatari!"

The crowd cheered and clapped.

"Now let's welcome the Singaporean team. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome...The Meteors!"

Spotlights fell on a blonde teenage girl with a ponytail and grey eyes.

"Anneliese Cardew!"

Next, the lights revealed a twelve-year-old boy with shaggy black hair and pale skin. He wore a shirt with skull designs under a black and silver jacket. A ring with a vulture on it rested on his finger.

"Nico Castellan!" Daichi announced.

The lights lit once again, this time revealing a fifteen-year-old boy with sandy hair and grey eyes. A scar the shape of a lightning bolt ran across the left side of his face.

"Luke Cardew!"

"And finally, the most important," Daichi announced, and for once, his over-dramatic pauses actually seemed to be creating suspense.

The lights turned on and a certain 14-year-old beyblader came into view, making Gou gasp and take a step back in pure shock.

The boy wore a deep blue trench coat, its color similar to an ocean on a rainy night, over an indigo shirt. His skin was almost unbelievably pale, suggesting that he came from a very cold part of the world. Snow white bangs covered his forehead. A mop of black hair styled in a single spike rested on his head.  
A red triangle was painted on each cheek. His icy blue eyes glowed cold and merciless.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome...KENJI AKAGAWA!" Daichi yelled.

"We meet again, Gou," he said.

Gou stared at him evenly, his crimson orbs burning with determination.

'He's not the same,' Gou thought.

The way Kenji was acting made Gou suspicious. He had known Kenji all his life, and he knew one thing for sure. Kenji Akagawa's eyes did not _glow_ like one of those Egyptian mummies coming back to life in cheap horror movies.

'He's emitting a dark, evil aura,' Gou thought. 'Kenji, you're definitely being manipulated by some other force.'

 **x.x.x**

 **Well, that's all for this chapter. Hope you guys liked it. Do tell me what you think about it in your reviews and remember, constructive criticism is always welcome.**

 **Character info:**

 **Anneliese Cardew:**

 **Age: 13**

 **Appearance: blond hair tied in a pony-tail, grey eyes.**

 **Nico Castellan:**

 **Age: 12**

 **Appearance: shaggy black hair, milky skin, dark eyes.**

 **Luke Cardew:**

 **Age: 15**

 **Appearance: spiky blond hair, stormy grey eyes. Wears regular clothing**

 **Leave a review please:)**

 **Next time: Evenly Matched Rivals!**

 _ **Why are Gou and Kenji's blades in shatters every time they battle? Have either of them ever defeated the other...or...will they decide it in front of the entire world? And will Gou be able to figure Kenji out?**_

 **~Chun:)**


	8. Evenly Matched Rivals!

**I'MMA BACK, PEOPLE! Did ya' miss me? Probably not, since I only just edited the last chappie. This chapter is way longer than the last and it also happens to my favorite chapter so I do hope you like it.**

 _ **Special thanks to Rock the Road, MagicalPhoenix12 and Ezabella for their awesome reviews!**_

 **Disclaimer: I do not own beyblade or Gou Hiwatari, Rin Kon, Makoto Granger, Tyson Granger and Kai Hiwatari.**

Previously  
 _The boy wore a deep blue trench coat, the color of an ocean on a rainy day, over an indigo shirt. His skin was almost unbelievably pale, suggesting that he came from a very cold part of the world. Snow white bangs covered his forehead. A mop of black hair styled in a single spike rested on his head.  
A red triangle was painted on each cheek. His icy blue eyes glowed cold and merciless.  
_

" _Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome...KENJI AKAGAWA!" Daichi yelled.  
_

" _We meet again, Gou," he said.  
_

 _Gou stared at him evenly, his crimson orbs burning with determination.  
_

' _He's not the same,' Gou thought.  
_

 _The way Kenji was acting made Gou suspicious. He had known Kenji all his life, and he knew one thing for sure. Kenji Akagawa's eyes did not GLOW like one of those Egyptian mummies coming back to life in cheap horror movies.  
_

' _He's emitting a dark, evil aura.' Gou realized silently. 'Kenji, you're definitely being manipulated by some other force.'  
_

 **x.x.x**

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, let's announce the battle order!" DJ Daichi yelled, his mouth mercilessly close to the microphone. He took out a piece of paper, and his mouth fell open. "This is unbelievable, people! Neither team has submitted any type of order in which they'll be playing."

He took the microphone away from his mouth and yelled at his regular voice level(which was still enough for the entire arena to hear), "Oi, you two! Even Kai's memory was better than this. How can you forget to submit the battle order."

"I didn't forget it, you idiot!" Gou hissed.

Kenji turned and gave the DJ a dangerous smile. Then, he did the most surprising thing. He launched his blade. It missed Daichi by a centimeter and forced him against the wall. "I'll do as I please. It's none of your business. And Kai and I are _not_ the same. You'd better remember that!"

"He's scary," Rin said, as she tried to hide behind Markus for comfort.

"Reminds us of a certain someone, I think," Makoto said, looking pointedly at Gou.

"Gou isn't like that," Markus protested.

"Neither is Kenji," Gou said, scanning the blue eyed teenager on the other side.

"I don't know, Gou," Kouren said. "He looks pretty scary to me."

A soft, deadly voice rang in Gou's mind, ' _Your equal has bowed to my will_.'

The voice was familiar yet Gou couldn't place his finger on it. ' _He is my pawn now, and it is me he_

 _serves.'  
_

Gou looked around frantically, looking for the owner, but found no one.

' _Looking for me, Little Emperor?_ ' the voice asked.

'Who are you?' Gou asked in his mind.

' _Me? You should know me by now, Emperor of Fire. I am the Jade Dragon.'_

'Show yourself!' Gou ordered.

He heard a faint laugh. He saw a figure shimmering and constantly moving, making it hard for Gou to focus. He saw a mop of red hair, a black trench coat. The figure stood directly in front of him for a second. Gou almost recognized the figure, but his memories abandoned him.

'I..I know you,' he managed.

' _Yes you do. Just as a famous beyblader, right now, I'm afraid,_ ' he said with a hint of disappointment. _'But don't worry, you'll know me as your master soon enough.'  
_

A black cloud of smoke surrounded the figure, and he was gone. Gou found himself back in reality.

"Gou, GOU!" he heard Rin yell.

"What?" he snapped.

"What happened to you? We've been calling your name for about five minutes," Kouren said.

"Yeah. Are you sure you're alright?" Markus asked.

"You seriously need to stop doing that," Makoto said.

"Lightning Boy is up first," Rin informed.

"Oh," was all Gou could manage.

"Forget it," Makoto said. "I'm going first!"

With that he stomped off to the dish.

Gou's mind took at least five seconds to process that. Then he realized what was happening and his mind started working over-time.

"Lightning Boy?" he asked.

"See the scar on his face. It looks like a lightning...whatever-you-call-it," Rin said.

"Bolt. It's called a lightning bolt," Gou explained.

"Nobody cares," Rin said.

"My best guess is that his blade has got something to do with lightning," Kouren said.

"We didn't know that at all," Gou said, dead sarcastic.

"Actually, Gou, we didn't know." Markus said.

Gou merely shrugged, "Well, you should have! It was pretty obvious."

Rin slapped Makoto pretty hard on the back. It must've hurt but the navy haired teen managed a smile.

"Do your best out there, Makoto," she encouraged.

"Yeah!" Markus joined in.

"Don't worry. I will," Makoto said, confident as always.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the participants for the first match have been chosen," Daichi announced.

"From 'The Meteors' we have Luke Cardew. And from 'The Bladecrushers' our player will be none other than Makoto Granger!"

The two beybladers made their way to the dish.

"We meet again, kid," said Luke.

"Yeah. Looks like we do," Makoto replied. "And, for your information, I'm not a kid."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "That's what all grade-school children say."

"I'm in Junior High!" Makoto protested.

"He's just trying to piss him off," Gou realized.

"Yes," Kouren said, "But why?"

"I dunno," Rin said.

"Are the players ready?" Daichi asked and the teenagers nodded, getting out their equipment.

"Three, two, one...let it rip!" Daichi announced as the two teenagers launched their respective beyblades.

"Dreslogia, charge!" Makoto ordered as his blade headed toward its enemy.

Luke smirked.

"Too slow," he said.

Just as Dreslogia was about to hit it, Luke Cardew's blade simply vanished before his eyes, only to reappear mere moments later, right behind Dreslogia. It smashed right into the water dragon, sending it flying.

Makoto stared at his blade, mouth hanging wide open. "It just…disappeared!"

"What happened out there?" Markus asked, looking at Kouren and expecting some answers.

"Maybe he used magic," Rin suggested.

"Yeah. That must be it," Gou said sarcastically.

"Guys, I've got it!" Kouren exclaimed. "Luke Cardew's blade didn't disappear. It just moved out of the way at lightning speed."

Gou eyed the dish critically where the battle continued. 'A blade capable of moving at the speed of light, huh? Makoto's in trouble.'

"So you think you can just disappear like that?" Makoto asked. "That's pretty cowardly if you ask me."

"No one's asking you," Luke bit back.

Gou's eyes glowed for one short second but Rin noticed it. He held his head lightly, as if in some kind of pain. Rin rushed to him.

"Gou! You okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah. I..I'm fine," Gou lied as he sat shakily on the bench.

"No you're not!" Rin protested. "Guys! Something's wrong with Gou!"

Kouren, who had been trying to get more information on Luke, and Markus, who was assisting her, came running to their friend's call.

"What happened," Markus asked, concern written all over his face.

Gou glared in irritation, "Nothing happened, okay? I just have a small headache."

"The Gou Hiwatari I know doesn't collapse on benches because of 'small headaches'," Kouren said.

"I'm going next," Gou suddenly declared.

He got a unified response from the team, "WHAT!"

"You are officially unfit to battle, Gou Hiwatari!" Kouren announced.

Gou gave the blue-haired girl a hard look, "Run that by me again?"

Surprisingly, the twelve-year-old held her ground. "Can't you see, Gou? You're not well. I won't allow you to fight in this condition!"

She was treating him as if he had just walked out of a hospital after a severe accident. "Fine. You'll change your response once you see who are opponent is. And, by the way, Makoto will lose."

"You've lost belief in him already?" Rin asked.

"This has nothing to do with _faith_!" Gou said, correcting the raven-haired teen in the process.

Markus eyed his captain suspiciously as he got up. "Is there a reason for you to think this way, Gou?"

"I'm just trying to mentally prepare you," Gou said, as if it explained everything.

However, Markus didn't push, and Gou was glad for that. It was one of the things he liked about the blonde.

Out in the dish, Makoto was having a hard time surviving. Each time he tried to attack, Luke's blade would simply...well...vanish.

"Enough playing around. I'll end this," Luke declared, visibly losing patience.

Over at the back, Kenji snorted, "In your sorry dreams."

Luke's eyes narrowed as he muttered, "And this is why I hate him so much."

"Sutoraika, finish him off!" the blonde ordered.

The blade headed for Dreslogia and disappeared at the last moment.

"Oh no. I'm not falling for that again," Makoto said. "Dreslogia, now. Really big WAVE!"

Water filled the stadium, slowing Sutoraika down, and revealing its position.

Luke stared in surprise, "What? But...how?"

Kenji smirked, "I told him."

Makoto's face broke into a grin. "Looks like your captain's a pretty smart guy. Anyway, it's my turn now!"

"He ain't gonna succeed either," Kenji declared.

"Makoto's done for," Gou suddenly said at the other side of the stadium.

"Dreslogia!" he yelled, forcing all his energy. "Now! Tsunami!"

Luke watched as a ten-foot-tall wave emerged from the blade.

Kenji laughed, "Makoto Granger just planned his own doom."

Gou face-palmed. "We are so losing the first match."

"But Makoto's winning," Rin protested.

"There's no way Makoto can manage a move like that." the duo-haired teen said. 'Something weird is going on,' he thought.

As if to prove his point, Luke suddenly called off an attack. "Sutoraika, NOW!"

The bit-beast rose from the blade.

A dragon.

Only then did Makoto realize something.

"Sutoraika...it means...Striker. In Japanese! How did I miss that?"

"Indeed. You're dealing with the lightning dragon, Sutoraika." Luke said. "Sutoraika, Raging Thunderbolt!"

The dragon shot a massive bolt of lightning towards the wave, cutting straight through it.

"Attack!" Luke ordered. The blade spun towards Dreslogia until Luke gave the final order.

"Sutoraika, Lightning Dragon's Roar!"

It was all over. Dreslogia became victim to Sutoraika's attack. As the beast roared, it exerted a massive amount of lighting and thunder, knocking Dreslogia out of the stadium.

"The winner: Luke Cardew. And with that spectacular victory the Meteors take the lead. Will the Bladecrushers be able to make a comeback or will the Meteors end it here?" Daichi asked dramatically.

"Thinking rationally, Daichi's second option sounds likely to happen," Gou muttered under his breath.

"GOU!" his teammates yelled in unison.

"I said 'thinking rationally'!"

"What's all this about you playing in the second round?" Makoto asked.

Gou eyed him curiously, as if wondering how he was carrying himself so easily after such a major loss.

"None of you are strong enough to win that," Gou declared.

"Show-off," Rin muttered.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Daichi suddenly announced. "The Meteors have decided their player. Gou, you'd better be quick 'cause this guy's pretty impatient."

Kenji gave Daichi a death glare that would've made grown men run for their mommies.

"M...moving on," he managed uneasily. "The player from The Meteors is none other than team captain Kenji Akagawa!"

Gou smirked. "So...who wants to fight Kenji?"

Kouren typed something on her computer. "Considering Kenji Akagawa's data and the way he plays, I think it's safe to say that Gou's the only one who actually stands a chance. But I still think you're not healthy enough to play."

The rest of the team nodded vigorously. Kenji had that maniac look in his eyes that made him seem either like a mad man or an evil genius.

Gou gave another satisfied smirk as he stepped forward.

"And as you can see, Kenji Akagawa's opponent will be...Gou Hiwatari!"

The crowd broke into a thunderous applause as Daichi continued to voice out their thoughts.

"Rumor has it, these two have battled again and again but have never come to a proper end. Their eternal battle continues to this day. Will they decide who is stronger..or will this match end in a tie?" Daichi asked dramatically.

Gou scanned the stadium and his heart nearly stopped when he spotted a certain figure leaning against the wall in a casual manner. He looked as emotionless as ever, but only Gou could see the worry in his father's eyes. Kai Hiwatari had taken the privilege to attend the match personally.

Gou let out a sigh, making Kenji smirk in amusement. Gou let out a large sigh, making Kenji smirk in amusement, "Nervous?"

"As if," Gou replied, but he knew he wasn't fooling Kenji of all people. Kenji could read him like an open book.

"I was expecting that. After all, my immeasurable power can make anyone nervous."

Gou translated that from 'Kenji Langauge' into simple english in a matter of moments. He'd slipped, and Gou knew that.

'His aura's making me nervous. The last time I felt like this was when...' his mind raced as he tried to remember, but once again, his memory abandoned him.

"Shall we begin?" Daichi asked.

Gou nodded, while Kenji took out his launcher. Daichi took the icy-eyed teenager's action as a yes.

"Alright, then," he announced. "Three!"

"TWO!" the crowd yelled in excitement.

"ONE!" the teams shouted.

"Let it rip!"

The two fourteen-year-olds simultaneously pulled out their winders and watched as their dropped into the dish.

"Even their way of launching contained so much force," Rin said, eyes wide.

"Well, this is a battle between Gou Hiwatari and Kenji Akagawa," Kouren reminded.

"You act like Gou's some kind of celebrity or something," Makoto said. "I mean, I get that he's strong, but don't you think you...I dunno, take this a little too seriously?"

"Too seriously?" Kouren repeated. "Honestly, Makoto! Our team captain is _THE_ Gou Hiwatari. He's one of the best beybladers in the world! In last year's championship, Gou didn't lose a single match."

"Then why didn't they win?" Makoto persisted.

"Because they forfeited in the semi-finals!"

"So he's one of the strongest bladers in the world, and he's the of the biggest cowards, too?" This picture of Gou Hiwatari seemed more satisfying to Makoto.

"He's not a coward. One of their members quit!" Kouren defended.

"I'm not even gonna bother arguing with one of Gou's fangirls," Makoto decided.

"I'm not a fangirl!" Kouren protested, blushing.

Drigelle aimed for Kenji who expertly dodged the attack. Kenji countered with a similar strike and the results were same. They continued it for a while but neither blader managed to hit the other.

"Their fighting style is exactly the same!" Markus exclaimed.

"No kidding!" Rin joined in.

"I think they lack originality. It's like their copying each other's moves," Makoto said.

"Enough playing around!" Gou said, "Drigelle, engulf it in flames!"

Kenji laughed cruelly. "So now my level of play is the same as Markus Tate?"

The dish erupted in flames.

Kenji waved his hand arrogantly. "Take it out!"

Water filled the stadium, extinguishing the flames.

"Rise, Drigelle!"

Kenji smirked, "Rise, Empress of water, Brigelle."

"WHAT!" the Bladecrushers exclaimed in unison.

"So that's why their fighting style is so similar," Kouren realized.

The bit-beast that rose from the blade was almost the splitting image of Drigelle. A woman in a blue kimono. Half of her dark hair was tied in a bun while the rest of it flowed to her waist. On her back were two massive wings that seemed to made out of nothing but water.

"Flame of Victory!" Gou yelled.

"Wave of Victory!" Kenji ordered.

The two elements collided with each other in an evenly matched strike, making both moves harmless.

"Now, Brigelle!" Kenji said. "Knives!"

Gou's eyes widened as numerous blades made entirely out of water attacked Drigelle. He winced slightly as cuts started to appear on his arms, cool blood making its way down his pale skin.

"Hang on," Kouren said, typing furiously (just like me). "Brigelle is attacking Drigelle! So why is Gou getting physically injured?"

"You're right," Markus agreed.

"Is that no-good jerk cheating?" Makoto asked, losing patience.

"How?" Rin asked. "Why can't we see it?"

"Kenji's not cheating," they heard a new voice say.

Makoto turned around. "Dad!"

"I've known that kid. And I know that even though he's acting really weird, he'll never cheat." Tyson said.

"But Gou is getting injured! How?" Kouren persisted.

"I don't know!" Tyson exclaimed.

"Yo, Tyson!" yelled Daichi. "You're not supposed to be down there. Go back to your seat!"

"Whatever," Tyson grumbled as he made his way back.

"Ah.." was the sound that escaped Gou's lips as another cut appeared on his arm. "Enough. Drigelle! Blazing Gig Tempest!"

"So now you're gonna copy Kai's moves?" Kenji asked disapprovingly.

"Gotta problem?" Gou asked as Drigelle did its work. Cuts similar to Gou's started appearing on Kenji's arms as well. Surprisingly, though, the duo-haired teen didn't even flinch.

"Drigelle, unleash your strength."

Kenji rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm trembling with fear."

Gou smirked. "You will soon enough."

Within himself, however, he thought, 'Kenji's never underestimated me before. What is wrong with him?'

The dish erupted in flames. Kenji calmly rose a hand, "Tsunami!"

Gou's eyes widened. "I knew Makoto couldn't manage a move like that on his own!"

"Hey!" Makoto yelled. "That guy just stole my move!"

"No," Kenji said. "I allowed you to borrow it temporarily. Stealing moves is Gou's specialty."

Gou gave the other teen a death glare. "I'd like to see you try doing it.

"No thanks. I can't stoop that low."

Gou glared heatedly at him. "Drigelle..."

Before he could finish, Kenji cut in, speaking in a childish voice. "Yes, yes, Drigelle, unleash your wrath."

His eyes widened as the dish erupted in flames. Red flames.

"Red flames signify anger," Gou said.

Kenji winced slightly. Only slightly, but it was clear the flames were affecting him. His eyes glowed alarmingly.

"Brigelle! Wall."

A wall of water appeared and extinguished the flames.

"No matter what you do, you'll never be able to surpass my new-found strength." Kenji said.

Gou's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "New-found strength?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, Kenji Akagawa has just mentioned some sort of new-found strength. Has the Emperor of the Sea just accepted an overlord?" Daichi asked dramatically.

"The Jade Dragon fits that definition quite well." Kenji decided.

"THE JADE DRAGON!" Kouren exclaimed. "That's what they call Ren Katsuragi!"

"You mean the red haired weirdo who's the chairman of the EBA?" Makoto asked.

"He's the one."

"Isn't he known for his ability to manipulate people?" Markus asked.

"He can control people?" Rin asked in shock.

"No," Markus said. "As far as I know, he's good at persuading people and making them do what he wants."

Upon hearing his teammates, all of Gou's lost memories returned. The red-haired teenager he'd been seeing from time-to-time was _Ren Katsuragi._

"So you think its low to use the same move as another person but it's not low to accept false power?" Gou asked, crimson eyes burning with rage.

"False power? No, Gou. This is true strength."

"That power can never be true strength. True strength comes from within!"

"Do you know why Kai says that?" Kenji asked and continued without waiting for an answer. "Because Kai, too, accepted a powerful blade once. But then, he threw it away. As soon as he did, he became second best. But he says that to make himself feel better."

"So? It's better than depending on that spoilt scarlet-haired freak!" Gou protested. "Flame Empress, Wing Attack!"

"Sea Empress, Wing Attack!"

The two elements collided yet again, but this time, there was no fire in the end. Only water.

"Brigelle, water!"

As expected, water filled the stadium yet again.

"Now, freeze!" he ordered. The water froze, capturing Drigelle in it.

Gou fell to his knees, shivering.

"Kenji," Gou's voice was barely a croak. "Stop this...please. Brigelle isn't happy with this."

His opponent let out a sarcastic laugh. "As if."

'It's like something's freezing me from the inside,' Gou thought. 'I need to stop this.'

"Drigelle, burn!"

An orange glow was spotted deep within the ice before it started melting. Gou got up, shakily.

Kenji laughed mercilessly. "Very well, then. Brigelle, finish him off."

His eyes glowed eerily. "Black Sea."

"Ladies and gentlemen, Kenji Akagawa has just called out a move called 'Black Sea'. Will this be enough to stop Gou Hiwatari and bring this battle to an end?"

Black water filled the stadium, drowning Drigelle. "Oh no!" Kouren yelled, "Drigelle won't be able to survive that!"

"What?!" was Makoto's shocked response.

"Seriously? So we're gonna lose?" Rin asked.

"It's much more serious than that. Drigelle's damage will be beyond repair," Kouren said, panicking more and more by the minute. "And it gets worse! I've been observing their battle and it seems like both of them take the exact amount of damage as their blade. Which means..."

"Gou won't survive either," Markus finished shakily.

"Bad," Makoto said. "Very bad."

At that moment, Gou looked right into Kenji's eyes and for a second, it felt as though he was pulled out of the battle. His pain ceased, but what he saw made him gasp. He was drowning in a body of dark water. He had barely taken it in when he was pushed back to reality.

Gou let out a scream of pain, dropping to his knees for a second time...

...And that's when it happened. Something stirred up inside Kenji. His eyes stopped glowing and returned to their normal blue color. They weren't cold and merciless like earlier. In fact, they were wide with worry.

"Wh..what have I done?" he asked himself. "Brigelle, stop that!"

Nothing happened.

Gou looked at him weakly, gave him a suspicious look, and smiled.

Gou's words echoed in Kenji's ears.

' _Brigelle isn't happy_.'

'Brigelle is _ignoring_ me,' he realized with surprise.

He took a deep breath and his eyes glowed again. Gou looked at him with alarm. "Kenji, don't!"

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

His eyes glowed again.

"Drigelle! Burn!" Kenji announced.

The red blade glowed.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Daichi announced. "Kenji Akagawa is controlling Drigelle! How is this possible?"

"Push it back, Drigelle!"

Gou let out a piercing scream and collapsed to the ground.

'I need help,' Kenji thought, getting increasingly tense. 'What would Gou do.'

He racked his brain for ideas.

"Help me, Dranzer!"

Kai's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me?"

He took out his blade and saw it glowing. 'He's _summoning_ Dranzer?'

The phoenix appeared on the dish.

Kai noticed Kenji breathing heavily. Sure, he was worried about Gou but his son was known for trying to do things he wasn't capable of. Kenji, on the other hand, was smarter. However, this could cost him his life, and Kai knew it.

"Dranzer...Drigelle...Blazing...Gig...Tempest!" he announced.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Kenji Akagawa has just called out Kai's centuries old move," Daichi announced, earning a glare from the businessman.

The two bit-beasts blasted Brigelle out of the dish in a double blast of flaming energy.

"A..and the winner is...I guess it's Gou!" Daichi announced.

No one clapped. No one cheered. No one celebrated. There was just too much tension in the atmosphere.

The deadly silence was broken as Kenji let out a single cry of agony and collapsed to the cold floor, frighteningly motionless.

 **x.x.x**

 **So…um…did I take it too far?**

 **What's wrong with Kenji? Will either of them survive? (Keep in mind that I can be a very cruel writer at times)**

 **It was so noble of Kenji to give up his win to save Gou's life, but can he save his own? I wonder….**

 **Tell me what you think with your reviews, people!**

 **By the way, Sutoraika was inspired by Masamune Katoya's Striker. I wasn't stealing it but it gets pretty hard naming so many bit-beasts. And just to make it clear, it is** _ **extremely**_ **hard to perform a move that's not yours. Which shows you how talented Gou is!**

 **Don't forget to leave a review. I read all of them and most of the time I answer them, too!**

 **Next time: Kenji Akagawa**

 _ **Hmm...a chapter named after a character who is currently 'frighteningly motionless'. Is chapter 9 a biography...or in memoriam?**_

 **See ya all next time!**

 **~Chun!**


	9. Kenji Akagawa

**Hey everyone! I'm back with a slightly tampered version of chapter 9 (don't worry, I haven't messed it up. I've just added a couple of dialogues.)**

 **A special note for my special readers: This chapter is written from the point of view of a certain character. I won't tell you which one, but I will tell you that the remarks in BOLD are my thoughts, while the remarks in normal font are the character's thoughts.**

 **x.x.x**

The first thing I saw as I got my sense of sight back was...white. Pure white. And the first thought that came to me? 'Since when is Hell white?

Because I was pretty sure I had passed away.

Then I heard the faint sound of a T.V and I knew Hell definitely didn't have televisions in it. I was alive. Somehow, that made me happy.

But the happiness was short-lived.

The sound of the T.V brought my memories back and I remembered what I had done.

"The next match will take place between Nico Castellan and Rin Kon!"

It was very faint, but more than enough for me to hear.

My memories rushed back like a nightmare. I sat up, breathing heavily.

I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me. "Thank goodness you're okay."

I recognized the voice and the sudden surge of guilt I felt at that moment was a hundred times more painful than all my worst memories combined.

I felt my voice breaking up. "K..Kai!"

Despite my head resting on his shoulder I could tell he was smiling from relief.

"Yeah?"

I felt moisture on my cheeks. Tears.

'What the heck?' I thought, 'I don't cry!'99

Kai hugged me tighter and somehow, it felt comforting. Who knew Kai could hug?

"Calm down," he told me. "It's okay. Everything's gonna be fine."

"I...I'm so sorry, Kai," I sobbed, marking the official beginning of my first ever emotional breakdown.

Kai pulled away and held me by the shoulders, smiling."Sorry for what?"

"Everything!"

"None of it was your fault," Kai said, sounding uncharacteristically soothing.

"Then who do you think it is?" I asked, tears still flowing down my cheeks in a seemingly unstoppable manner.

"Takato's disowned kid."

"Ren Katsuragi was disowned?" I was so shocked, I forgot to cry.

Kai nodded. "When he was fourteen."

I looked down. "Then I guess you should do the same."

"No way! You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, kid."

"Very funny," I said sarcastically.

"I'm damn serious." Kai said.

I buried my face in my hands and sobbed quietly. I didn't know why. Letting it out made me feel better. Kai didn't stop me.

Before you start thinking I'm Gou, I am not! I'm Kenji Akagawa. You probably know me because of that wretched thing called social media. I don't bother checking, though. It's not like I'm active on any social networking sites, anyway.

I probably would've continued blabbering on about myself if I hadn't realized something.

"Kai," I said, getting his attention. "How long have I been out?"

"A day, I guess," he answered.

"They postponed the match?"

"Yeah. To see if you two would recover. I told them not to but they wouldn't listen," Kai said in exasperation.

"Why did you tell them not to postpone it?" I asked.

"Because you were not supposed to wake up so soon. See that!" he said pointing to a bed beside me. Only then did I notice Gou and I was struck, yet again, with an agonizing wave of guilt.

"You, Kenji, are a lot more injured than Gou. What you're doing up and fully conscious is something the doctors will have trouble understanding. Which means I'll have trouble explaining it to 'em!" Kai said. "What I'd like to know how you were able to control two bit-beasts at once, both of them of the opposite element."

"It's a little something I picked up from...uh...on one of my training excursions."

"So you met the Katsuragi kid on one of your field trips, huh?"

"Wait just a minute," I said, struggling to show no emotion. "I said I _'Picked it up on one of my training trips'_ which means...I... stumbled upon it...somehow," I reasoned lamely.

"The power to control bit-beasts which are not yours is not something that is found lying around the snow!" Kai said. "Besides, Gou can do the exact same thing, only I've never seen him control two at a time. He can control bit-beasts but he rarely goes out to train."

Kai put a hand on my shoulder. "Kenji, why aren't you telling me the truth?"

I stared at the white sheets, silently wondering whether I should tell Kai or not. I made my decision.

"Oh look, Kai! Gou's teammate's winning."

Kai stared at me. "Number one, that's a highly unsuccessful way to change the subject. Number two, Rin's having a pretty hard time against that kid."

I gazed at the T.V screen. Kai was right. Nico did have the upper hand. But the Rin girl was putting up a pretty good fight too.

Too good.

"Fly, Vulture!" Nico ordered. Yes, Nico's blade is a vulture called...well, Vulture. It flew and dropped from above.

"Ouch," Daichi said. "That has _got_ to hurt Drion. Rin, you really need to be careful out there 'coz Nico doesn't seem to be in a good mood."

Nico gave Daichi a death glare that could compete with Gou'sand, trust me, I know what I'm talking about.

A little more about myself while the match gets boring. Now, you're probably wondering why Kai said that _you're-the-best-thing-that-ever-happened-to-me_ dialogue. My parents died when I was...I dunno…a year old? Anyway, my Dad died in a car-crash. My mom was really, _really_ sad. She died from depression a few months later. She asked Kai to look after me and he was happy to oblige.

What the world doesn't know, however, is that my mother was Kai's sister, Katy. So Kai has some sentiments attached to my very existence.

Did I mention that Kai is my legal guardian? Well, now you know.

Gou and I have been rivals our entire life. Using bit-beasts of similar types but opposite elements gave us a very good reason to become rivals...

Which is why people have a hard time believing that my best friend is Gou...

..Or at least he was.

I tried to kill him! Why? How? He's like a brother to me. In fact, he _is_ my brother. My _younger_ brother. Gou is two months younger than me but he's much more immature.

I would've kept blabbering endlessly about my miserable life but the television caught my attention yet again.

"Vulture, Death Wave!" Nico said in a dangerous voice. I guess he'd had enough of the girl's constant 'messing around'. Believe it or not, Nico's a pretty dangerous kid, and, normally, it's a pretty bad idea to mess with him.

I had known all along that Nico was planning something, and now it was here. The Death Wave is Nico's best move. It also happens to be one of the most powerful moves I've ever seen (and I spend most of my time battling Gou, so I've seen some pretty powerful moves).

"Nico!" Luke yelled, anger evident in his voice. "I told you not to use that move until I gave you the signal!'

Nico gave Luke a menacing glare. "This is my battle, Luke, and I'll fight it however I like!"

With that, Nico let...what was the blade's name? I think it was Drion. Anyway, the blade felt the full force of Nico's wrath.

At that precise moment, I had a vision. I've been getting a lot of these lately, and unlike Gou, I know what they mean. I have the power to foresee the outcome of a battle.

 _My Vision_ _:_

 _An intense wind was blowing. There was a hurricane in the dish. Vulture was being tossed around._

 _"Throw him out, Drion!" Rin yelled._

 _End of my vision_

An intense black wind blew. It surrounded Nico's blade and blew with intense pressure. That move can stop any ordinary blade from spinning in a matter of seconds. More capable blades take more time but it's called 'Death Wave' for a reason. I was told that I survived pretty easily, and for some reason, people found that petty surprising. I doubted Rin's ability to pull off the same move as I had, or even find some alternate solution to make it out of the situation with Drion still in one piece...

...Which was probably why I was so surprised when...

Rin smirked, "You decide to pull off a move involving black wind against the Lion of Wind?"

Nico's eyes widened as realization dawned upon him. "This is black wind. It isn't normal wind."

Rin remained unconvinced. "Drion, now!"

There was a violent change in the direction of the wind. It was chaotic even when it was moving in one direction. Now, it moved anywhere, quite freely. By looking at the way the wind was literally trying to rip apart the stadium, one could say that neither beyblader was controlling it. However, the look on Rin's face told me that she wasn't quite finished yet.

"Drion, Roar!"

A loud roar was heard and Vulture was pushed back with immense pressure. That roar had definitely released a huge amount of air.

"Vulture," Nico began, but Rin interrupted him.

"Drion, Hurricane!"

The air pressure suddenly changed all over the arena(Well, I wasn't there, but I think it changed. How else can she call a hurricane?). Tornados formed in the arena. Nico's Vulture bounced between them.

"Vulture!"

"Throw him out, Drion!"

One of the tornados sucked Vulture and threw him out of the dish.

"It's over!" Daichi yelled. "The winner of this match is Rin Kon! Which means the Bladecrushers get to advance to the third round!"

And so it's official. We lost. Not that I expected anything less from Gou and his minions. Well, I hope he wins. Knowing him, he'll be up and about in no time.

 **x.x.x**

A few days have passed since our match against Gou's team. Luke was pretty mad about our loss but his uncle managed to talk to him. Anneliese told me I was welcome to join the team again next year and I got the feeling that she, Luke and their cousin Nico would be forming a team again. I guess I can think about it then.

Right now I'm in Russia. In Kai's usually uninhabited mansion. It was Wednesday. The weather was cold as usual. I got dressed and went downstairs where I met Kai. Kai is currently in Russia because of some supposed business issue. But I know that he's here because he's afraid I'll collapse or something.

"You gonna go to school today?" he asked. There was a hint of surprise in his voice. I don't go to school very often.

"Why?" I asked. " Do you need me?"

Even though Hiwatari Enterprise is originally a Japanese company, its largest branch is in Russia. Ever since Kai took over, Hiwatari Enterprise expanded. It has branches in China, America and Europe(don't ask me which country in Europe. I don't know) as well. Naturally, Kai gets pretty tired travelling from one country to another, and the Russian branch almost always requires his undivided attention. So, sometimes(only _sometimes!_ ) I help him out.

"I guess not. You're not well any way." Kai said.

I glared at him. I hate it when he does that. " Stop treating me like an invalid! I'm fine, okay?"

"Look, I'm just worried," Kai said.

"Do you need me today, or not?" I asked, hoping he would say 'yes'. I _wanted_ to come. Anything to get me out of school works.

"Hazel's got it managed. Besides, I know you don't get along with her."

This was true. Hazel, Kai's…assistant…secretary, I don't know what she is, but she sure likes to treat me like a little kid, incapable of standing on his own two feet.

I nodded and turned around, heading for the door. "I'm leaving, then."

"Aren't you gonna eat anything?" Kai asked.

"I'm not hungry," I said.

With that, I left the house, closing the door gently behind me as I stepped into the snowy front yard of Kai's mansion. The weather was as cold as ever, but I didn't mind the icy winds. I'm used to them, I _live_ here. I buried my hands into my pockets, my unbuttoned blazer billowing against the wind.

I arrived at the school building. My school is a maze, and since I haven't been here for a _long, long_ time, my sense of direction abandoned me. Luckily, I spotted one of my classmates, and followed him discreetly to my class.

Getting to my class was easy. Dealing with twenty teenagers staring at me was not. Doing my best to ignore them, I took the seat at the back of the class. I know it's always vacant because no one wants to be the constant victim of the chilly Russian winds.

The teacher entered a few moments later, a frail old woman with grey hair tied into a tight bun, her small, round spectacles set low on the bridge of her nose.

"Good morning, class," she said, her mouth set in a stern line. She's my least favorite teacher.

At that moment the door burst open, revealing a girl, visibly out of breath, her fiery red hair with specks of snow in it.

"Tanya Irving, you are late."

I let out an inaudible and entirely unintentional chuckle.

"Sorry, Ma'am," she panted. "and the name's Tessa Ivanov, not Tanya Irving."

Big mistake. Our teacher does _not_ like it when students correct her. She looked like she would like to bury Tessa in the snow.

Still glaring daggers at the redhead before her, she stated rather stonily, "Take your seat. I have a class to begin."

Tessa turned around and scanned the class. Her startling green eyes met mine in a deadly exchange of merciless glares.

"Well, what _are_ you waiting for?" the teacher asked, not bothering to hide her temper. "There's an empty seat beside the new boy."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME! _The new boy!_ I've been in this school for more than a year. Just because I don't come here very often doesn't mean I don't exist!

Ignoring this, I turned to see Tessa drop moodily into the chair next to me and throw her bag on the floor with a soft 'thud', murmuring, "As though Dad and Kai weren't enough, _she_ has to start picking on us too."

"Now," the teacher began, and what little murmuring could be heard ceased instantly. She has the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As you have undoubtedly noticed, the class has been set into pairs. This has been done because I have arranged a small activity for you. You are to work with your partner and write a small story."

'Trust English teachers to make you write stories in every class,' I thought grumpily. 'Now she expects me to work with Tessa!'

Tessa and I never got along really well, but about a year ago, Gou and Tessa had a major row as well. Gou quit the team (we were all members of the Russian beyblade team, The Demolition Kids) and Gou is still not on talking terms with Tessa. Tessa and I get along fine most of the time...as long as her ridiculous sidekicks don't appear.

Kai and Tala(Tessa's Dad) seem to find our not-so-friendly relationship mildly amusing. Sometimes, they leave us together on purpose(our teacher seems to take a leaf out of their book). At least it's easier to focus without Susan and Carla surrounding us...

"TESSA!"

Apparently, I spoke too soon. There were two girls in front of us. The one with bushy brown hair, Susan, and the one with the curly dark hair, Carla. Tessa's sidekicks. Immediately they launched into supposedly worried speeches about how 'terrified' they were and that they'd thought something bad had happened to their 'fearless leader'.

"Why can't you work with one of these idiots?' I grumbled.

"Trust me I'd love to, but some of your bad luck seems to have rubbed off on me, Kenji."

"I'm sure it has," I murmured sarcastically.

After a lot of humiliating insults from our teacher, Susan and Carla finally drifted off. As soon as they left Tessa asked, "What were you doing back then, you could have won."

I knew what this was about. The Singaporean Round.

I wasn't in any mood to explain how conflicted I was during that match. Of course, Tessa being Tessa, will never understand, anyway.

So I wriggled out of it by saying, "I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, and however I want."

Tessa rolled her eyes. "Whatever. It's just that now I have to fight Gou. And I was really looking forward to facing an opponent with my level of skill." she said, faking a pout. "Not that you'd have been much of a challenge either, you know, since you and Gou are at the same level."

"Well, that's some confidence you've got there, Ivanov," I said.

I admit, Tessa is an exceptional beyblader, but Gou still surpasses her. Not that either of us has ever fought her before, but there's something called observation.

"Honestly, the level of skill found at the World Championship is so pathetic. And you'd think they'd managed to come up with something half decent after all this time." She said, observing her fingernails in an attempt to look elegant. Well, if you ask me, she looked nothing but idiotic doing that.

"Have you even played at the World Championships?" I asked. I hadn't exactly had what I'd call an interesting battle at the World Championship except for my match with Gou, but I had enjoyed the Qualification Tournament.

"Yeah right. As if. Like I said, they're way too weak to face me. Aubrey and Gwen have been winning all the fights," she said, motioning towards two girls sitting in the row next to us, gossiping and working at the same time. The supposedly beautiful Aubrey, with chocolate brown curls and violet eyes, and her friend Gwendolyn (or Gwen, as Tessa and Aubrey call her), with straight, waist-length dark hair and eyes of the same color.

"I'm guessing your sidekicks are the official Team Cheerleaders?" I asked in mock politeness.

"Very funny."

 **x.x.x**

As I walked home, I thought about some of the recent events that had occurred. Kai's voice rang in my head, _None of it was your fault._ He was right. It _wasn't_ my fault it was Ren Katsuragi's fault. What's his problem, anyway?

First, I see him staring at me through alleyways and giving speeches at the same time. Then, he's leaning against a wall, silently observing me every time I control a bit beast that's not mine and no one can see him even though he's standing in front of them..and then he lures me into the forest and…..

 _Bleep!_

I was pulled out of my thoughts, when my phone bleeped, indicating that I had a message.

I took put my phone. The message was from Kai: _meet me at H.E before going home._

'H.E' is short for Hiwatari Enterprise. Kai came up with it to save time. He's not exactly a fan of writing.

I walked all the way to the building keeping my thoughts firmly out of my mind, but there's nothing I can do about my feelings. I have a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach that something bad is going to happen. And it's gonna involve me, somehow. For all our sake, I hope it is just a feeling.

Well, it turns out pondering on feelings takes a lot of time for me (hey, I'm not an expert at revealing my feelings. Keeping them bottled up? Now, that, I can do) because by the time I had described my feelings to myself the H.E building had came into view.

Upon arriving there, I encountered a guard. A big, beefy guard. This guy was definitely new, because when he saw me, he crossed his arms across his chest and stared at me.

"What do you want, kid?"

Normally, I can enter without having to say a word, so this was unusual for me. Nonetheless, I gave him a simple answer. "I want to go inside, isn't it obvious?"

He sneered. "This is a workplace, kid, not a playground. No kids allowed."

This was an insult. "I'm not a kid!" I protested through gritted teeth. Do I look like a kid?

"What are you? Thirteen? Fourteen? Fifteen at most. I think you'll qualify."

I glared at him. "Look, Kai called me. I need to get in."

"Oh, really?" he asked in disbelief. "And why would he do that?"

At that moment, the doors slid open and Kai appeared.

"You certainly took your merry time getting here,' he said to me.

"Your guard won't let me in!"

"I see," Kai said, turning to the guard. "Roger, this is my son, Kenji, and when he comes here, you need to let him in."

The guard, Roger, nodded dumbly.

I smirked at Roger and followed Kai through the building. He to me to his office, where he slumped in his chair. Kai only does that when he's depressed.

"There's been a slight turn of events," he told me.

"What?" I asked.

"I need to go for some urgent business. Meanwhile, Gou and his team will be arriving in Russia…and they'll be staying with you," he finished with a sweat-drop.

"WHAT!"

Kai chuckled softly.

"Gou I can understand, but his teammates are a complete bunch of idiots."

"Well, you're just gonna have to put up with them."

I cursed audibly but Kai ignored. Cursing was regular practice at the Hiwatari Household. But damn! Me living with The Bladecrushers!

Can you imagine it?

 **x.x.x**

 **Can you?**

 **So that's chapter nine!**

 **This chapter was kinda like...an autobiography (I know I said biography in the last chapter but that was just to scare you...sorry)**

 **I hope you like it. Read and tell me what you think with your reviews!**

 **Some important info:**

 **Name: Tessa Ivanov**

 **Age: 14**

 **Lives with: her parents are divorced, so she kinda moves back and forth between them. Tala's her dad, though. Her mom's an OC.**

 **Appearance: fiery red waist length hair, the same color as Tala's, with green eyes to match her mom. She wears an orange coat (with white details) over a tight tank top and black jeans. Her beyblade gear goes around her waist in a custom-made belt.**

 **Oh, and here's a fun fact: the name Kenji means intelligent second son, strong and vigorous. Gou mentioned in chapter one that Kenji's a straight As student, he's definitely strong and vigor is something that comes with being a Hiwatari. As for the 'second son part', Kai adopted Kenji after he had Gou, so that kinda makes him his second son. Akagawa means 'red water', hence the red triangles on his face.**

 **Next time: the Bladecrushers at Hiwatari Mansion.**

 **The title says it all...the Bladecrushers spend some time at the Hiwatari mansion before the Russian tournament with Kenji as their host...**

 **~Chun =)**


	10. The Bladecrushers at Hiwatari Mansion

**I'm back! 10 chapters! Can you believe it? I had fun writing this and I hope you have fun reading it.**

 **Special thanks to MagicalPhoenix12, Blue Lightning of the Night, Rock the Road and the-next-you-know-who.**

 **Something went wrong with my computer so sorry if there's some problem in the format.**

 **x.x.x**

"WE'RE LOST!" Makoto yelled.

"You've got to be kidding," Markus said.

"I told you, you should've let me read the map," Kouren huffed, crossing her arms.

"Chill in, guys!" Rin said.

Markus sweat-dropped. "I think you mean 'Chill _out'._ "

Rin blushed. "It doesn't matter. Kouren can read the map now and we'll get there in no time."

"Or you could just follow me," Gou suggested, speaking for the first time since Makoto's declaration.

"You can read a map?" Rin asked, eyes wide with fascination. "I mean, everyone knows Kouren's a nerd, but _you,_ " she said, as though the idea of Gou having anything to do with academics was beyond her imagination.

"I don't need a map to get to my own house!" Gou said through gritted teeth, a vein popping on his forehead.

Rin laughed nervously, "Of course. Lead the way, O fearless leader."

She earned Gou's infamous death glare.

~ **A few minutes later** ~

"WE'RE LOST!"

Once again, it was none other than Makoto Granger who had uttered those words.

"We're not lost," Gou began. "We're..."

"Lost!" Makoto insisted. "you can phrase it however you want to but it'll mean the same thing in the end!"

"Rin Kon to the rescue!" Rin declared, raising a fist into the air, wearing her blue BBA coat like a cape. "I shall get us all out of this mess with my awesome sense of..uh..where-to-go."

Kouren and Markus sweat-dropped.

"Rin, I think you mean sense of direction," Kouren corrected.

"Just because we've been walking for, like, five minutes, it doesn't mean we're lost," Gou said. "Don't you ever walk?"

"Of course we walk!" Rin said. "We even climb mountains back at our village."

Makoto scratched his head. "Not really…well, I walk to school, but Dad usually drives us everywhere else."

"Dad drives me everywhere, even school. And when I'm with Mom, I'm usually too busy trying to stay away from Ren Katsuragi, he's scary. But when we're free, Mom drives us."

"Dad has asthma," Kouren admitted sheepishly.

"Who knew you guys were so hazy?" Rin said.

"You mean lazy, right?" Markus asked.

Rin blushed."Whatever!" she began walking in the opposite direction. "Right then, everyone. Follow me."

 _"Ahem!"_

The team turned around to see Gou glaring daggers at them, a dark aura around him.

Makoto laughed nervously. "Right, uh…where to now, Gou?"

 **~Another five minutes later~**

"WE'RE HERE!" was the triumphant cry that escaped Makoto Granger's lips.

"Finally," Kouren breathed out in relief.

"Gou did know the way after all!" Rin said patting her teammate's shoulder.

Gou merely rolled his eyes and put his finger on the doorbell.

 _Ding dong!_

Nothing happened.

 _Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong!_

"You ring that bell one more time, Flame Head, and I'm not gonna open the door!" said a very familiar voice from inside the house.

 _Ding dong!_

"Good luck getting in, Fire Brain."

"Well, I don't need you to let me in, Water Queen," Gou shot back as they heard footsteps retreating.

Gou pulled out a blade from his pocket and set it on his launcher. Only Rin's sharp eyes noticed that it wasn't Drigelle. He launched it towards the door without a second's hesitation.

Just as the blade was about to hit the door, the door flung open and a pale hand caught the blade.

"And this is why Kai never leaves you alone."

Standing before The Bladecrushers, with his snow white bangs lying messily on his forehead, his black hair set in a spike, the ever-present red triangles firmly on his cheeks and his icy blue eyes holding the slightest hint of mischief was…

"KENJI AKAGAWA!" The Bladecrushers(minus Gou)yelled in unison. Kenji looked at them as though noticing them for the first time.

"What is he doing here?" Makoto asked.

"So now my presence in my own house is being questioned?" he asked. "I thought Japanese people were supposed to be polite."

"Of course," Kouren said, blushing slightly. "We're very sorry," She bowed.

Kenji looked totally freaked out. "Your teammates are insane," he told Gou.

Gou walked into the house, hands in his pockets. "Tell me something I don't know."

"Your house?" Markus said slowly. "That means..you're.."

"Brothers," Gou finished.

Kouren breathed with fascination and took out her laptop. "I have to..."

"You'd better not put this on any social media site," Kenji warned.

"But if you're Gou's brother, why is your last name Akagawa?" Rin asked.

Kenji stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked off.

"None of your business," Gou said coldly. "Now, are you going to come inside or should I close the door?"

 **x.x.x**

"GOU!"

"DO YOU HAVE TO YELL WHENEVER YOU SAY SOMETHING?!" Gou asked, unintentionally raising his own voice. Kenji, who was reading a book on the next bed, raised an eyebrow(Yes, they share the same room).

"Where's the bathroom?" Makoto asked in somewhat of a hurry, jumping up and down.

"Uh..right.." Gou began, glancing at Kenji meaningfully.

The icy-eyed teen smirked. "Second door down the corridor."

"Thanks!" Makoto yelled and rushed off.

Kenji turned to his frenemy, amusement written all over his face. "You don't even remember where the bathroom is?"

The duo-haired teen raised his chin defiantly. "Well, I don't come here very often."

"Could've fooled me."

 **x.x.x**

"I hate this wretched place!" Gou murmured. He was in the kitchen, looking for something to eat and having a considerable amount of difficulty with the task.

"Makoto, are you sure this is a good idea?" he heard Markus's voice say with a hint of nervousness.

"Positive," Makoto replied.

They appeared at the door of the kitchen.

"Hi!" Makoto said.

Markus pointed to Makoto. "It was his idea."

Gou didn't doubt it.

"I'm guessing you're here because you're hungry?" Gou asked.

Makoto nodded vigorously while Markus shook his head with the same intensity.

Gou eyed the blonde teen skeptically. "What're you so afraid of?"

"N..nothing." Markus stammered.

Makoto rolled his eyes, "He thinks Kenji's going to lose his temper with him."

Gou actually laughed. "You're afraid of Kenji?"

"No I'm not!" Markus protested, a faint blush rising on his cheeks.

"Yeah you shouldn't,' Gou said. "It's Makoto who should be worried."

Makoto crossed his arms defiantly. "He's no big deal. Besides, Markus is scared of everyone, even Ren Katsuragi."

'Well, he's downright frightening!" the blonde protested.

"How so?" Gou asked.

"Well…his red eyes are kinda hard to maintain eye contact with, and his voice can send shivers down your spine, and…it's almost as though he can…s..sense fear."

"Sense fear?"

Markus nodded. "And occasionally, his eyes…glow."

"What?!" Makoto and Gou yelled in unison. It was probably the only thing they could agree on.

"Like Kenji's," he whispered.

Gou inhaled sharply. If Ren Katsuragi's eyes glowed the same way as Kenji's was it possible that he wasn't behind everything?

' _The Jade Dragon fits that definition quite well.'_

No, it wasn't. The Jade Dragon was definitely Ren Katsuragi. Gou didn't know exactly how or why the redhead had gotten that nickname, but it had been used to refer to him for the past five years.

He looked at Markus. The blonde was standing behind Makoto, fists clenched. It was clear he hated Ren just as much as Gou.

Markus, in Gou's opinion, was a strange kid with startlingly contrasting personality traits. Sometimes he was just as confident as Makoto or Rin, but on other occasions he was easily the most timid person Gou had ever met(which wasn't saying much, considering how anti-social Gou is). Sometimes he was about as mature as a grown-up. Otherwise, he showed every sign of being Makoto's best friend.

Deciding he needed to clear the tension, Gou said, "I'll tell Kenji we need to order something for dinner."

He left the two boys in the kitchen and within moments Makoto and Markus heard:

"Seaweed Brain!"

"What do you want, Fire Queen?"

 **x.x.x**

As night fell upon Hiwatari Mansion, Gou and Kenji's bickering decreased, Makoto ceased to feel hungry and Rin stopped getting strange ideas for ways to sneak up on the brothers. In other words, everyone was pretty sleepy.

Somewhere around midnight, Kenji Akagawa-Hiwatari **(Kai legally adopted him, remember?)** lay peacefully in bed, his trademark red triangles gone, icy-blue eyes closed.

"No…leave her alone…"

 _He was in a dark room. A tall purple-haired man was standing before him, smiling cruelly._

 _"Take the girl. She needs to be taught a lesson," the man said._

 _Two guards appeared holding a girl with snow white bangs and jet black hair tied in a low ponytail. She was badly wounded, tears spilling out of her purple eyes and running down her pale cheeks._

 _It pained him to see her in such a state. "No…Katy…"_

 _He turned to the man. "Leave her alone, Boris!"_

 _Boris sneered. "She is weak. Weakness is a crime and those who commit crimes must be punished."_

 _He turned around, brushing his blue bangs out of his eyes and came face to face with an old man with long grey hair._

 _"Voltaire…Grandfather, please." He said, tears spilling out of his eyes. "I'm begging you!"_

 _"Take them away," Voltaire ordered. "Both of them."_

 _"No...Katy…don't hurt her… please."_

 _But as Boris dragged him away, he momentarily saw the shape of a young man standing behind Voltaire, his scarlet hair flowing dramatically, hands buried deep within the pockets of his black coat. He heard the redhead say, "I've conquered the water and fire is going to be next." He looked at him dead in the eye and then…._

Kenji woke up with a start, breathing heavily.

"What's wrong?" Gou asked, wide awake. Kenji knew he had been fast asleep a second ago.

"N..nothing," he replied shakily. "Just a dream."

"About your mum?" Gou asked. "You were saying something like Katy….I think."

"Y..yeah..but she was just a little girl…no more than ten or eleven. And I was there."

Gou looked at him uncertainly. "You were there? Where?"

"In a dark room. There was this weird purple haired guy called Boris…and Voltaire was standing behind me…and…I think they were trying to do something to Katy…something like weakness is a crime?" then he remembered one more important detail. "Oh, and I had blue hair."

He looked at Gou, who was frowning, apparently deep in thought. "Gou, _you_ have blue hair."

Gou's eyes widened as realization dawned upon him. "Kai had blue hair in his childhood."

"So what you're saying is that…"

"You had a dream form Kai's perspective," Gou said. "It makes sense. Katy was Kai's twin, right? If Katy was ten, Kai was ten too, which would explain why Voltaire was alive."

"And that dark room must be somewhere within the abbey," Kenji said, finally making sense of it all.

But one tiny detail still bothered him.

 _I've conquered the water and fire is going to be next._

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing.," he said, fluffing up his pillow. "Just get back to sleep."

 **x.x.x**

"I'm getting bored!" Rin protested the next morning. "You're no fun, Kouren. Even Gou and Kenji have stopped fighting."

As though to prove her wrong, there was a tremendous crash from somewhere above them followed by Kenji's shout of, "What the heck are you doing up there, Fire Brain?"

The fact that Gou was guilty of the crash was confirmed when he yelled back, "Nothing that concerns you, Water Queen."

Rin was lying on her bed, her head hanging from the edge. Kouren was sitting in the next bed, her eyes fixed on the screen of her computer. They had decided to share the rooms, with Gou and Kenji in one room(it turned out it was how things went when the boys were alone), Markus and Makoto in another and Rin and Kouren in the third. Makoto was convinced the house was haunted(why else would Kenji and Gou share the same room?). When Kenji had found out about Makoto's suspicions, he had given the navy haired teen a look of surprise and said, "You're smarter than I thought." Kouren was sure Gou had stifled a laugh.

"I'M BORED, KOUREN!"

"Aah," Kouren said, jumping in surprise. "What was _that_?"

"Kouren, I want to Beyblade!" Rin whined.

"Rin, this house is full of beybladers, just go and challenge any one of them," Kouren suggested with a hint of irritation.

Rin thought for a moment. "Let's see, I almost beat Makoto last week, but Gou stopped us. I don't wanna fight Markus just yet 'coz I'll be at a disadvantage and Drion can't take the damage. Gou thinks he's better than everyone so I wanna put him in his place, but Drigelle must be in real bad condition if Gou's stopped using it and if Drigelle's in bad condition then Kenji's blade will be even worse…so, there's no one I can fight."

"Uh-huh," Kouren said, nodding absent mindedly, eyes still fixed on the computer screen.

"I'm going out," Rin decided suddenly.

"Y..yeah," Kouren said, still not paying attention, as Rin opened the window and jumped out.

Kenji was sitting in his room when he happened to look outside the window, only to see Rin jumping out of the window of the corner most room.

"Oi! Where're you going?" he yelled.

"I'm bored! I need to do something!" Rin whined.

"Rin!" Kouren yelled, finally realizing that her friend had just jumped from a window and was currently trying to go roaming around Russia entirely unprotected form the cold.

"At least take your coat with you," Kouren suggested, throwing said coat from the window.

"I'll be going then," the raven haired teen said, catching the coat and putting it on.

Kenji turned to see Gou arrive at the door, heavily laden with various boxes.

"Is Rin going somewhere?" he asked.

Kenji eyed the load he was carrying before saying, "Uh huh."

"Oi, Water Queen, help me with this!" Gou said, motioning towards the boxes in his hands.

Kenji smirked. "Say the magic word."

"In your sorry dreams."

Kenji shrugged and returned to his book. "Good luck, then."

"I hate you," Gou decided.

This time, the other teen didn't even look up as he said, "The feeling is mutual, Flame Freak."

 **x.x.x**

"Wolborg, attack!"

"Dodge it, Drion!" in ordered her blade.

She had left the mansion to find something worthwhile and this was definitely it. She was battling! Her opponent was a girl with fiery red hair and startling green eyes, and though Rin had no idea who she was, the name Wolborg sounded vaguely familiar.

"Is that all you've got?" the girl asked. "Do you mean to tell me that all you're going to do is dodge my attacks."

"No," Rin said, "I'm going to hit back. Drion, attack."

"Wolborg, get away."

Rin smirked. "Who's running away now?"

"Drion, tornado!"

The girl's green eyes narrowed. "Wolborg, Novae Rog."

But before the two moves could collide, a flash of crimson entered the dish and threw both Drion and Wolborg out. A cloaked figure appeared beside Rin clutching a launcher in his hand. He pulled back his hood, revealing the pale face, crimson eyes and light blue bangs of Gou Hiwatari.

"The two of you should have the decency to _wait_ till the semi-finals."

The girls looked at each other in shock.

"You're…." the redhead began.

"Rin Kon, member of the Bladecrushers," Gou said before turning to Rin. "This is Tessa Ivanov, leader of the Russian team, which I presume has been named something like the Demolition Teenagers this year."

"We're called The Demolition Girls," Tessa said through gritted teeth.

"I couldn't care less. Come on, Rin."

But Rin held her ground. ""I'm finishing what I started."

"And you will," Gou said. "But not now."

He locked his crimson eyes with her golden ones and Rin knew he was telling the truth.

She sighed and followed him.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ivanov," Gou said before turning around.

"I'll more than just _see_ you, Hiwatari," Tessa said icily.

Gou smirked. "I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, Ivanov."

With that, he walked off, cloak billowing, Rin at his heel.

"You need to be careful," Gou told Rin after they had walked in silence for quite a lot of time. "If Tessa had used that move Drion would've gotten a lot of damage. She's pretty strong," he added as an answer to Rin's questioning glance.

"You were using another blade," Rin said, making the duo-haired teen stiffen.

"Drigelle took too much damage in that last fight."

"And now it's fine?"

Gou smiled. "Fortunately."

"You're beginning to soffen up."

"Do you mean soften up?"

Rin blushed. "You too!"

They arrived in front of a tiny forest. The Hiwatari house stood behind these trees.

These trees. Something seemed to be calling Gou from within them.

"Get inside," he told Rin.

"What about you?"

"I'm coming," he said distractedly, already heading into the clump of trees.

Rin went to the door and rang the bell just as Gou disappeared into the trees.

Kenji opened the door. "It's you. Have you seen Gou?"

"Yeah. He was here with me and he told me to go."

"But where did he go?" Kenji asked. Was that desperation?

"There," she said, pointing at the trees.

"Oh no," Kenji said. "Get in."

He grabbed a jacket and ran off. He was vaguely aware of Rin's questions but he did not care. Only one statement rang in his mind.

 _I have conquered the water and fire is going to be next._

He was the water…and if that was true, then the fire was…

 **x.x.x**

"Gou Hiwatari," said a soft, deadly voice.

Standing before him, with his black mantled trench coat flowing, his messy scarlet hair grown so that it reached mid-back, and his wine-red eyes glowing ominously was none other than Ren Katsuragi.

Gou stepped back, trembling, eyes wide with shock. Markus's words rang in his mind.

 _Well…his red eyes are kinda hard to maintain eye contact with, and his voice can send shivers down your spine, and…it's almost as though he can…s..sense fear._

His wine colored eyes pierced him, his voice a spine-chilling whisper and…

"My, my, is the great Gou Hiwatari actually scared?" he asked mockingly.

Yup, he could sense fear.

"Unfortunately, I'm here for some very important-and rather painful- business." He said, taking out a black blade. Gou could swear that blade was emitting an evil aura.

'Kenji made me nervous,' Gou thought. 'And he's making me scared.'

Knowing it was all a part of Ren Katsuragi's plan, Gou took out his blade. "I'll crush you and make you pay for what you did, Katsuragi."

"Just Ren is fine," he said, as though his last name was an insult. "And if you're talking about the thing with Kenji, he was a fool."

with Gou glaring and Ren smirking, the two took out their launchers and got into position.

"Let it rip!"

 **x.x.x**

 **Finished! Finally! Man, that was long.**

 **So…what do you think is going to happen next? Emily works for the EBA so whenever Markus visits her, he has to endure Ren Katsuragi. That's how he knows so much about her.**

 **Leave review, people!**

 **Until next time,**

 **~Chun**


	11. The Emperor Falls

**I'm back, everyone! Did you miss me? I know it was a long break...but, hey, writing is harder than reading. Also, my internet was wor. I've left a hint about Ren's beyblade so see if you can catch it.**

* * *

 _Previously:_

 _"Gou Hiwatari," said a soft, deadly voice._

 _Standing before him, with his black mantled trench coat flowing, his messy scarlet hair grown so that it reached mid-back, and his wine-red eyes glowing ominously was none other than Ren Katsuragi._

 _Gou stepped back, trembling, eyes wide with shock. Markus's words rang in his mind._

" Well…his red eyes are kinda hard to maintain eye contact with, and his voice can send shivers down your spine, and…it's almost as though he can…s..sense fear."

 _His wine colored eyes pierced him, his voice was a spine-chilling whisper and…_

 _"My, my, is the great Gou Hiwatari actually scared?" he asked mockingly._

 _Yup, he could sense fear._

 _"Unfortunately, I'm here for some very important - and rather painful - business." He said, taking out a black blade. Gou could swear that blade was emitting an evil aura._

 _'Kenji made me nervous,' Gou thought. 'And he's making me scared.'_

 _Knowing it was all a part of Ren Katsuragi's plan, Gou took out his blade. "I'll crush you and make you pay for what you did, Katsuragi."_

 _"Just Ren is fine," he said, as though his last name was an insult. "And if you're talking about the thing with Kenji, he was a fool."_

 _With Gou glaring and Ren smirking, the two took out their launchers and got into position._

 _"Let it rip!"_

 **x.x.x**

The two blades clashed in mid-air with startling ferocity and landed on the ground.

"Not bad," Ren remarked, before his eyes glinted with mockery. "For a sheltered little kid."

"What did you call me?" Gou asked though gritted teeth. You can't call Gou Hiwatari a 'sheltered little kid' and get away with it _that_ easily.

"I called you a sheltered little kid, of course. Daddy makes sure you don't get in trouble, and if you do you have Big Bro to get you out of it." Ren said cruelly. "You'd be surprised to find the measures Kai takes to keep his little Gou safe from harm."

"If you're trying to piss me off, Katsuragi, it's not working."

"It's working wonders, Little Emperor."

"Drigelle, Attack!"

Ren smirked as Drigelle hit his blade, which exerted a mass of dark energy.

"Keep attacking like that, Gou, and we'll be here all night." Ren said softly.

"Drigelle, Flame of Victory."

Flames erupted from the crimson blade, but Ren looked almost…disappointed.

"That was pathetic," Ren said and Gou stepped back in surprise to find the blade completely intact. In fact, it was spinning faster than ever.

"D..Drigelle, Wing Attack."

"Oh, come on," Ren said, once again, in that spine-chilling voice. "Even Kenji put up a better fight."

"Drigelle, Blazing Gig!"

Gou stared at the black piece of spinning metal in horror. The blade looked as though it hadn't felt a thing.

'What _is_ this?' he thought desperately.

"You have such interesting emotions, Gou," Ren said with a laugh. "Fear, anger and fear again. I can almost feel you trembling."

Gou glared at him, fists clenched.

"And there it is again," Ren said triumphantly. "Anger. I love it."

Ren looked at the clump of trees around him. "Somewhere out there, Kenji will be running about aimlessly, trying to find you and protect you from suffering the same fate as him."

If it were possible, his voice turned even deadlier as he said, "Of course, you should know it's inevitable."

 **x.x.x**

"GOU!" Kenji yelled, rushing through the trees. "Where are you?" he asked desperately in a lower voice.

He took out his phone and typed a message: _Emergency. Come quick. Kinda hard to explain._

But he hesitated before sending it.

'Can I really trust Kai?' he thought with a pang. 'No time to think. I really need answers and someone needs to find Gou fast. I'll ask Kai when he comes.'

As Kenji pressed the 'send' button, memories rushed back to him.

Flashback:

 _'Katy Hiwatari' Kenji typed furiously and pressed the 'search' button. He waited for a moment for the search engine to work but no results appeared._

 _"What?" he mumbled in exasperation. Gou was somewhere upstairs doing who knew what but Kenji was glad for once to be relieved of his presence. It meant he could dig around in peace._

 _He typed 'the Hiwataris' and results flooded the page in an instant. But all they said was that the Hiwataris owned a company called Hiwatari Enterprise and something about Voltaire._

 _With an exasperated sigh, Kenji typed 'Kai Hiwatari' as a final attempt._

 _Results filled the page. At the top was a link titled 'Kai Hiwatari's Known Relatives'. It had just been put up so Kenji guessed that the person who had been erasing details of Katy's existence hadn't seen it yet. Kenji clicked it and found something like this:_

 _Voltaire Hiwatari: Kai's grandfather, died after 9 years in jail._

 _Susumu Hiwatari: Kai's father, deceased_

 _Amayo Hiwatari: Kai's mother, deceased_

 _Katy Hiwatari: Kai's sister. She disappeared - and died - aged 13._

 _Sophie Hiwatari: Kai's wife, deceased._

 _Gou Hiwatari: Kai's son, aged 14._

 _Kenji shut the computer off, breathing hard. Whoever had written that had obviously known Kai in his childhood but didn't know him now or Kenji's name would've been on the list. But Katy had…died at the age of thirteen. If that were true, then she obviously wasn't Kenji's mother._

 _Kenji stared at the blank computer screen before thinking 'What are you hiding, Kai?'_

End of Flashback

 **x.x.x**

"Is that all you've got, Little Gou?" Ren asked. His eyes glinted with a cruel kind of mockery, as Gou's attacks bounced off as though it hadn't felt a thing.

His wine-red eyes glowed menacingly, making Gou gasp. "Scared, Little Hiwatari?" Ren asked.

"In your sorry dreams, Katsuragi!" Gou said, seething with rage.

Ren's eyes narrowed with anger. "I thought I told you not to call me that!"

Fear enveloped Gou, more...frightening...than he had felt since the fight had begun. Ren's black blade emitted a purple aura and charged towards Drigelle. It collided with almost unimaginable strength and Drigelle fell back, shredding the ground with it as it went. Gou screamed in pain.

"What _is_ this?" he asked in agony.

Ren laughed, eyes glinting mercilessly. "Your punishment."

Gou screamed even more as Ren's blade attacked Drigelle from all sides at unbelievable speed, leaving Gou oozing blood all over. He fell to his knees.

"Aw...down already?" Ren asked. "But I've barely begun."

"Stop it!"

Ren smirked devilishly. "But I'm having so much fun! Your screams are most entertaining. Did you know that, Gou?"

"Katsuragi!" Gou said, hauling himself up. "You are going to be so sorry!"

For the first time since their battle had begun, Ren glared. "You really don't learn, do you?"

"What do you...aaahhh," Gou screamed yet again, as Ren's blade unleashed another barrage of terrifying attacks.

"What's wrong, Little Emperor?" he asked, laughing at Gou's (admittedly) pitiful efforts to get back up. "Weren't you going to make me sorry?"

"D...Drigelle, hang in there," Gou said weakly.

"You look pathetic, Gou," he laughed.

"Drigelle, Attack! Burn it to cinders!" Gou yelled, biting his lip.

"Burn it to cinders?" Ren repeated mockingly. "That's a new command. Well, then, Little Emperor. Give it your best shot."

Flames escaped the crimson top and attempted to engulf Ren's blade. It was enough to turn any ordinary blade to scrap metal.

"I think you should know that my blade isn't ordinary," Ren said. He looked at Drigelle with distaste. "Yours, on the other hand..."

Drigelle wobbled.

"Pathetic," Ren said. "You know, with the right owner, Drigelle can be so much stronger. If I didn't need you as much as I do, I would throw you in the trash where you belong."

Gou gasped as cracks appeared on Drigelle. "N..no."

Ren smirked. "Yes. I think one attack should be enough to break it beyond repair."

"Why do they call you The Jade Dragon?" Gou asked. It was entirely out of the blue but it had just struck him.

Ren looked at him, slightly surprised at the suddenness of the question. "I guess it's kinda like how they insist on calling me Katsuragi."

Gou gave a questioning gaze.

"My father threw me out when I was...fourteen, I think. All because I failed to meet his expectations."

"Oh," was all Gou was able to manage.

"He legally disowned me, you see," his eyes gained a maniac look and he smiled madly. "And it was the best thing he'd ever done to me."

"That look," Gou said to himself. "You were possessing Kenji!"

Ren laughed. "Finally got there, have you?"

Gou had 'gotten there' as Ren put it, shortly after the match with Kenji. But now, he had no doubt.

"Possess isn't the word I'd use. I'm not an evil supernatural spirit in a horror movie." Ren said. "I merely changed his views."

"Drastically," Gou muttered.

"And that's what I'm about to do to you."

Gou's eyes widened. "You're lying. No one can convince Kenji to turn into a monster."

"All right, fine," Ren said, with a hint of exasperation. "I didn't just change his views. I manipulated him into thinking what I wanted him to think."

"What about the Jade Dragon."

"Oh yes, I almost forgot. Well, my first bit beast was a jade dragon."

"Your first?" Gou asked.

"Uh huh. It was almost as pathetic as Drigelle, so I replaced it."

"Y...you replaced...your bit beast?" he was so shocked he almost forgot the fact that Ren had just insulted Drigelle.

"You look like a younger Kai." Ren said. "That reminds me. I have to destroy your blade."

"What - why?"

"Because it's too weak to exist," Ren said cheerfully.

"You sadist!"

"Thank you."

"Drigelle," Gou began, but before he could finish, he sunk to the ground overcome with pain. He looked to see Ren's eyes glowing just like Kenji, his blade attacking Drigelle relentlessly.

More cracks appeared on the crimson blade.

"Stop it!" Gou said, panic evident in his voice.

"Attack," Ren said softly, smirking.

"No, don't!" Gou said. "Drigelle!"

The blade wobbled.

"You know," Ren said. "There is a way to get out of this."

"How?" Gou demanded. "Tell me! Don't do this...please."

"Kenji was smarter than you," Ren said. "You think you've saved him, don't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're so easy to distract. A moment earlier you were pleading me to stop. Now you're asking me questions about your beloved big brother." Ren said. "Well, I'll tell you. Kenji's power is just buried deep within him. You pushed it down but you didn't save him, Gou."

"How can I save him?" Gou asked.

"I'm not going to tell you that."

"I hate you," Gou said.

"Funny. That's what the others said."

"What do you mean?"

"Time to finish you off!" Ren announced, stretching his arms. "King of Darkness!"

Darkness appeared behind Ren, closing in on Drigelle and Gou in spirals.

"You look just like your dad, Gou." Ren said, voice soft but deadly. "Though, this time I won't lose."

It was agony unlike anything Gou had ever felt before. He fell to the ground, screaming in pain, clutching his sides.

"Stop it! Leave us alone!" Gou yelled.

"Look at me, Hiwatari."

Gou looked up and saw Ren smirking cruelly, his mid-back length scarlet hair flying dramatically, his wine-red eyes glowing.

Those glowing eyes...

Gou stared right at them and for a second, it felt as though he had been pulled out of the world. His pain ceased and all stains of blood disappeared. He saw the Flame Empress Drigelle at her fullest, weilding an unimaginable amount of power. Gou barely had time to take it all in, before he was pushed back to reality.

"You have two options," Ren said. "You saw what great power Drigelle has. All that's needed to unlock it is a powerful owner. I can grant you that power."

"And...if...I refuse?" Gou asked with difficulty.

Ren smiled coldly. "You - and your precious Drigelle - face total annihilation."

Gou gulped. "What happens if I accept?"

"You become my pawn. And you win all your fights."

"Basically, you want to turn me into you."

"If you say so," Ren said. "But I don't think you have a choice."

Gou screamed again.

"Time's running out, Gou. Tick tock."

"Fine!" Gou yelled. Ren smirked and snapped his fingers. His blade stopped attacking and the wobbling Drigelle stopped spinning.

"I...lost?" Gou asked himself. He hadn't expected to win but losing still came as a surprise.

Darkness engulfed him and his blade. Gou felt new found energy surge through him. Ren called his blade and put his hands in his pockets as he watched in amusement.

Gou got up, a maniac smile on his face, crimson eyes glowing ominously. Drigelle started spinning, gaining speed by the second.

"Well done," Ren said. "You're taking this a lot better than Kenji. He tried to resist it."

Gou did not answer. He was too busy admiring his new found strength. He raised his hand and Drigelle flew to it.

Gou smirked. "Excellent."

"Well," Ren said. "My work here is done. You won't stay consious for long, though."

Gou was already showing signs of passing out. His eyes were shut tight as though he was trying not to cry out. He opened his eyes and Ren saw that they were not glowing. Darkness engulfed Gou yet again and he screamed.

"You can't resist it, Flame Emperor." Ren said coldly, turning around. He muttered something like, "I speak from experience," and with that, he blended into the shadows and disappeared.

Gou fell to his knees, finally giving in. The darkness swallowed him and he lost consciousness.

 **x.x.x**

Kenji grasped his knees gasping for breath.

'Where is he?' he thought in panic, looking around wildly. His eyes rested on a body lying in the grass.

"Gou!"

He ran to the teenager lying on the ground, and scanned the area for Drigelle. He found it near Gou, lying in the grass andemitting a strange dark energy.

"Oh no," Kenji said. "Why on earth did you run off like that, Gou?"

He stuffed the blade in his pocket and tried to pick up the other teen.

'Heck. Why couldn't you be a little less heavy, Gou?'

"KENJI!"

Kenji turned to see Markus and Makoto running towards him.

'How did they find me so quickly?' he thought.

"We left Kouren at home since we were pretty sure she wouldn't be any help and Rin had to stay because Kouren was scared." Makoto explained.

"Scared of what?"

"The ghost!"

"Uh...Makoto," Markus said, poking his friend in the back. "I'm pretty sure he was only joking."

Makoto looked at Kenji with surprise. "You can joke?"

"My brother is unconscious and more injured than he's ever been," Kenji reminded, glaring at the two as though it was somehow their fault.

With a lot of struggle, the three took Gou back to the house where Kenji wrapped him up in every bandage he could find.

"Gou looks like a mummy," Markus whispered in Makoto's ear.

"Oi, Kenji! Markie here thinks Gou looks like a mummy."

"Makoto!"

"What?" Makoto asked innocently.

"I'm not going to," Kenji began, before stopping to think for a moment. "What do you think I'm going to do to you, exactly?"

"He's scared of anyone who can do that eye glow-y thingy," Makoto explained.

"Because Ren can do it?" Kenji asked.

"You know about that?" Markus asked, evidently surprised.

Kenji gave a bitter smile. "More like...I was told."

"Told?" Makoto asked. "How?"

The icy eyed teen gestured toward his brother who was lying unconscious. "Something like that."

"Ren did that?" Markus asked. "What's he got against Gou?"

"He hasn't got anything against him. He wants to use him. And he's done a darn good job too." Kenji said with a weary look at Gou.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Makoto said. "How are you two on first name terms with Ren Katsuragi?

"He really hates it when you use his last name," Markus said with a shudder.

"No kidding," Kenji added, unintentionally rubbing his arm.

 _Ding dong!_

"Who's that?" Makoto asked.

"Kai."

"Uh..I'll go," he offered.

"Why?" Kenji asked, eyeing the navy haired teen skeptically.

"Uh...because I want to."

 _Ding dong!_

"COMING!" Kenji yelled.

He took off before Makoto had time to call him, jumping the entire flight of stairs at once.

By the time Kenji had reached the entrance hall, the bell had rung twice more.

'Gou's impatience is definitely inherited,' Kenji thought as he went to open the door. As soon as he pulled the door inside, a bucket of water crashed to the ground. Kenji's fast reflexes kept him from drowning and he jumped back just as the bucket hit the floor.

Feeling his temper rising, he yelled, "GRANGER!"

"Sorry!" Makoto yelled from upstairs. "It was for Gou!"

"What was that?" Rin asked.

"Makoto, who did you prank now?" Kouren asked.

"I already told you," Makoto said. "It was for Gou!"

"Speaking of Gou, where is he?" he heard a familiar voice. Finally bothering to actually look at the new arrivals, Kenji looked up, only to see not one but two men standing at the gate.

There was Kai, his grey bangs messier than ever, black hair...well, as it always was. He was wearing a black business suit with his coat unbuttoned.

Standing behind him in a yellow shirt, red jacket and navy blue hair was none other than Tyson Granger.

"So..uh...how do we get inside?" Tyson asked.

"Jump," Kenji said as though it was the most obvious thing in existence.

"I'm not exactly young, kid." Tyson said, wearily rubbing the back of his neck.

Kai smirked and jumped, landing beside his eldest with a soft thud.

Tyson's jaw dropped. "And you're telling me you're forty?"

"Thirty-nine," Kai said defensively.

"You coming or what?" Kenji asked.

"How? I can't jump," he added as Kenji opened his mouth.

The fourteen-year-old looked around, thinking deeply before his eyes lit up momentarily. He dug beneath his coat and produced a blue blade. His blade. Kai's eyes narrowed in suspicion as the icy-eyed teen launched his blade right into the puddle.

"Brigelle, do your thing."

The blade spun faster than your average blade and before they knew it, was sucking up all the water within its reach.

Kai gave Kenji a suspicious look before saying, "Come on, Tyson, and stop wasting my time."

 **~In Gou and Kenji's room~**

"What have you done to him?" Kai asked as soon as he reached the room.

"What? I'm not a doctor!" Kenji protested.

"We need to take him to the hospital," Tyson said.

"We do?" Rin asked.

"Yes, Rin." Tyson said. "We do."

"He's not gonna like that," Kai said.

" don't you think his safety is more important than what he likes, Kai?" Tyson asked.

"Ugh! Fine!"

 **x.x.x**

"Kai," Kenji said. "Who were my parents?"

Kai stared at him. They were in the hospital. The doctor had asked them to leave the room so they were waiting in a corridor.

"Kamito Akagawa and Katy Hiwatari." Kai replied. "Do doubt it?"

"Well…yes, actually."

"Why?"

"I…kinda found out that Katy died when she was thirteen."

Kai's eyes widened. "Who told you that?"

"No one," Kenji said, slightly alarmed at Kai's shock. "I found it on the internet."

"Oh," Kai said, breathing a sigh of relief. "What did it say, exactly?"

"Well…uh…something like 'she disappeared - and died- aged 13?'"

"Right," Kai said. "That."

"Well?"

"You know we grew up at the abbey, right?"

Kenji nodded.

"When I was eleven, I lost my memories in the Black Dranzer incident." Kai began. "Katy was getting pretty depressed those days because life in the abbey was getting tougher than ever. So…when she found that I'd lost my memories and couldn't recognize her, she felt that she'd lost her only family. Grandfather took me to Japan and Katy was left alone in that hellhole. So…she ran away. Voltaire was outraged. He knew that if the kids in the abbey found out that someone had succeeded in escaping, they would try to do the same. So…he told everyone that Katy had _tried_ to escape and died in the attempt. The person who provided the content for that website is probably a former abbey victim. That's how they know," he concluded.

"So…Katy died when she was…" Kenji started.

"Twenty-six," Kai answered. "You were one."

Kenji stared ahead, eyes unfocused, apparently deep in thought.

"What inspired this little research of yours?" Kai asked pulling the boy out of his thoughts..

"I had a dream," Kenji said. "And..I was you."

It felt weird telling Kai that he'd had a dream from _his_ point of view.

"You were me?" Kai asked. It didn't take a genius to realize that Kenji wasn't the only one feeling weird.

"Uh huh. In the abbey. Katy was there too. They were doing something to her, I think. There was this weird purple haired guy called Boris and Voltaire was there as well." The icy eyed teen explained.

"I remember," Kai said, clearly not wanting to be reminded of the not-very-good times.

"What bothers me is the fact that Ren was there," Kenji said.

"Ren? No. he couldn't have been. He's too young!" Kai exclaimed. "Where did you see him?"

"Behind Voltaire. Kinda like a projection of him, actually."

"That is definitely weird."

 **x.x.x**

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the semi-finals of the Beyblade World Championships!" Daichi announced as several fireworks exploded in the air.

"Whoa…the Bladecrushers have actually submitted a battle order. What a surprise, folks!"

Makoto sweat-dropped. "Seriously?"

"Let's welcome the teams!" Daichi yelled. "Representing Japan, give it up for The Bladecrushers! Representing Russia, let's welcome The Demolition Girls!" Daichi announced. "I wonder how Gou will react when he finds out he has to face his old teammate."

Much to Daichi's dismay, Gou was absent from the team and the stadium.

Tessa gritted her teeth, "Where's that arrogant Hiwatari?"

"That doesn't concern you," Makoto said, stepping forward.

"Yeah," Kouren joined in. "There's no rule that says the team captain has to be present at all times."

"What?!" Tessa asked, outraged.

"Isn't that right, Daichi?"

"Well…" Daichi said, scratching his head. "I guess so. But don't you think…"

"No we don't!"

As his teammates exchanged glares with the Demolition Girls, Markus happened to look at the audience, hoping their reactions weren't all that negative, but something else caught his eye. A mop of flaming red spikes, a high collared dark red trench coat with black trimmings, along with black jeans, milky skin and startling green eyes. The guy was at least two years older than him and around the same height as the Singaporean beyblader Luke Cardew, if not taller. He was leaning against the wall, something Markus had seen only Kai do, _and_ he was staring at Markus. His face betrayed no emotion, though his eyes held a certain ferocity.

Unable to keep his penetrating gaze, Markus looked away only to find that Daichi had gotten yet another surprise.

"This is unbelievable, folks! The Bladecrushers have actually bothered to submit a battle order. And you can be sure to see some epic battles today 'coz our first players are…."Daichi gave one of his dramatic pauses and yelled, "AUBREY VERSUS MAKOTO!"

The bladers stepped forward.

"On your mark," Daichi said as the teens took out their equipment.

"Get set."

"And…Let it rip!"

The blades landed in the dish and circled each other as Daichi yelled. Makoto was disgusted to find that Aubrey's blade was _pink._

"Of all the colors you choose _pink?_ " he asked with distaste. "I'm guessing you're a lipstick and make-up type of girl?"

"What if I am?" Aubrey asked. Makoto was right. Her lips were pink with lip gloss and her eyelashes dark with mascara. It suited her.

"You'd be wise not to underestimate girl power, kid."

"Who're you calling a kid, Girlie?"

Aubrey simply smiled and said, "Mariposa, attack!"

"Ah…Dreslogia, run!"

"Oh dear, whatever made the big bad boy run away from the _harmless_ little girl?" she asked mockingly, placing a delicate stress on the word 'harmless'.

"Dreslogia, attack!"

"Dodge it, Mariposa!"

"Dreslogia, Wave!"

Water began to fill the stadium but before it could reach Mariposa, Aubrey ordered, "Mariposa, fly."

"Hey!" Makoto protested "No fair!"

"Actually, Makoto, there's nothing in the rules against flying." Daichi put in. "You should know that. I mean, Drigelle can fly."

"Drigelle can _fly?_ " the Bladecrushers asked in unison.

"Well, _duh!_ " Tessa said. "Perhaps you noticed Drigelle has wings?"

"Well…ducks have wings but they don't fly." Makoto reasoned lamely.

"Mariposa, attack!"

The blade swooped down.

"Dreslogia, now!"

The water rose above Dreslogia in a massive wave that would make surfers itch for their surfboards. Mariposa collapsed right into the water, causing Aubrey to curse out loud. Makoto didn't hide his surprise. He wasn't expecting foul language from a pretty face.

The water cleared off and Aubrey gave another command. "Mariposa, Camouflage!"

And just like that, the pink blade seemingly vanished into thin air.

"Where did it go?" Makoto asked, looking around the dish.

Makoto glared at a very amused Aubrey.

"Show yourself, you coward!" he yelled.

"Who're you calling a coward, Dragon Boy?" Aubrey asked. "But, okay. If you insist. Mariposa!"

At that moment, an invisible force hit Dreslogia, sending it backwards. In a blur of pink, the spinning top came into view.

"Dreslogia, attack."

The two blades clashed and Mariposa was pushed back.

"Now's the time, Mariposa!"

The blade shone and a beautiful pink butterfly emerged.

Makoto's jaw dropped. "You bit beast is a _butterfly_?" he asked incredulously.

Aubrey simply smiled. "Pretty, isn't it."

"Uh…I guess."

"Right, then, Mariposa. Take flight!"

"Wait - what?" Makoto asked as the butterfly took off.

"Flap your winds, Mariposa!"

As the bit beast did so, a huge wind blew and for a second it seemed as though Dreslogia was bound to lose balance.

"MAKOTO!" Kouren yelled. "Remember! What goes up must come down!"

Makoto's eyes lit up. "Right! Of course!"

"Dreslogia, hang in there!"

In a few short moments, Mariposa was back on the ground and Makoto grinned.

"Right, then," he said, rubbing his palms. "I've been perfecting this move for quite a while, but I'll thank Kenji for letting me borrow it."

Tessa's eyes widened. "Oh no! Aubrey, be careful!"

"Dreslogia….Tsunami!"

A massive ten foot tall wave crashed into the stadium and Aubrey let out a highly girly scream.

"Whoa…" Daichi said **(I'd forgotten about Daichi)**. "Folks, Makoto Granger has borrowed Kenji Akagawa's famous Tsunami! And, honestly, he seems to be doing a lot better than the last time."

"Hey!" Makoto protested. "I heard that!"

"Mariposa!" Aubrey yelled to her blade, but she was…well, too late. The wave had not only thrown the blade completely off-balance, it had carried it out of the dish, where it landed gracefully at Aubrey's feet.

"And it's over!" Daichi announced. "The winner is Makoto!"

Makoto jumped, fist in the air. "Yay! I won! I won!"

Markus glanced at the audience and found the red haired teen glaring. By this point, it was pretty obvious to Markus that the boy was rooting for Russia.

"Makoto! You won!" Rin said, running towards the boy as the rest of the team followed, beaming.

"The next match will take place between Tessa Ivanov and Rin Kon!" Daichi announced.

Tessa stepped forward and Rin did the same.

"I was hoping to fight Gou, you know." Tessa began. "But, I guess I'll have to make do with you since he obviously isn't considerate enough to show up himself."

"Then, why don't I give you a display of uncharacteristic consideration and crush you right here, Tessa?" a male voice said.

The Bladecrushers spun around to find none other than Gou Hiwatari standing right behind them, one hand in his pocket the other one gripping Drigelle. There was a bandage on his right arm, but other than that he looked perfectly fine. In fact, he was smirking devilishly, his crimson eyes glowingly alarmingly.

The red haired teen in the audience smirked with amusement.

"Let's do this, Ivanov," Gou said, his smirk widening, eyes glinting dangerously.

"Bring it, Hiwatari!"

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Daichi yelled. "Gou makes a dramatic entrance and challenges Tessa! How will this end?"

Daichi's statement seemed to create commotion in more than just one place.

In the hospital, Kenji walked into Gou's room only to find it empty.

"Oh no!" he gasped.

In the gardens of the EBA a certain sixteen year old redhead lay, as a butterfly landed on his finger. He opened his wine-red eyes and stared at it with a smirk.

"Destroy her, Flame Emperor."

 **x.x.x**

Gou smirked. "I'll beat you so bad, Ivanov, you'll never be able to spin a blade again."

* * *

 **And that's it! I'm pretty sure this is the longest chappie yet. So what do you think? Do you think Ren was too much? Is K+ fine or should I rate this T, considering the amount of blood Gou loses in his fight with Ren.**

 **So…who caught the hint?**

 **Right, then. A few things I need to clear. Number one: Mariposa means 'butterfly' in Spanish. Number two: Rin's eye color has been changed to golden. Number three: Ren Katsuragi was inspired by the Cardfight! Vanguard character Ren Suzugamori and looks exactly like him (if you exclude the half-skirt Suzugamori wears). Katsuragi is around the same height as Garland or Brooklyn during the BEGA tournament. I would've mentioned this sooner but I didn't want to attract any attention toward him until now (since the secret is out in the open).**

 **Leave a review, guys!**

 **Until next time,  
~Ar-chan (I'd almost stopped using my nickname)**


	12. The Empress

_"Ladies and Gentlemen," Daichi yelled. "Gou makes a dramatic entrance and challenges Tessa! How will this end?"_

 _Daichi's statement seemed to create commotion in more than just one place._

 _In the hospital, Kenji walked into Gou's room only to find it empty._

 _"Oh no!" he gasped._

 _In the gardens of the EBA a certain sixteen year old redhead lay, as a butterfly landed on his finger. He opened his wine-red eyes and stared at it with a smirk._

 _"Destroy her, Flame Emperor."_

 _ **x.x.x**_

 _Gou smirked. "I'm gonna beat you so bad, Ivanov, you'll never be able to spin a blade again."_

 **x.x.x**

"Right, then," Daichi said. "Are you ready?"

Tessa nodded, positioning her launcher while Gou said, "I was born ready."

"Three…two…one!"

"Let it rip!"

The bladers launched their blades.

"Drigelle, burn it to cinders," Gou said, voice low yet menacing.

Massive flames took over the stadium and Tessa let out an ear splitting scream.

"What's wrong?" Gwendolyn asked.

"It feels..as…though…my whole body's…on fire," Tessa replied, causing the teenagers to look at each other, horrified.

Gou smirked as the flames died out. "Right, then, Drigelle. Attack!"

Drigelle attacked Wolborg from all sides at remarkable speed. It was a little too similar to the way Ren had attacked Gou earlier.

Tessa howled in pain and dropped to her knees as though Drigelle was attacking _her._

"What's going on?" Makoto asked.

"She's taking the same amount of damage as her blade," Kouren answered. "Just like Gou in the second round."

"This is getting boring," Gou said. "Drigelle, finish her off."

With a final attack, Drigelle sent the blue blade flying. Gou smirked as the blade returned. It landed on its side but before it had even touched the ground there was crimson flash and the blade lay in two halves.

"W…Wolborg," Tessa wailed, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Tessa!" Aubrey and Gwendolyn yelled, running toward their friend.

"The winner is Gou, but don't you think you took it a little too far, kid?"Daichi asked.

Tessa looked at Gou, tears streaming down her face. "How could you?"

Gou merely called Drigelle back to his hand as he said, "Consider this your punishment for being weak. Weakness is a crime, Ivanov. Didn't Daddy tell you that?"

With that, he turned and left. Mere moments later, Kenji appeared.

"Was Gou here?" he asked, making a beeline for the Bladecrushers.

"Yeah…" Rin said. "He sorta challenged Tessa and…and cut her blade in half."

"He did what?!"

"My point exactly. What's gotten into him?" Makoto asked.

"Ren's gotten into him," Kenji said furiously, marching towards his former teammate.

"Tessa," he said in a surprisingly gentle voice, kneeling beside the weeping girl.

She turned. "Kenji…"

"Where's your blade?"

The green eyed girl showed Kenji the blade. Her hands were trembling.

Kenji took the blade and gently placed the two pieces on the ground as though trying to fix them like a jigsaw puzzle. After that, he put his hind on the bit chip (which had now been cut in half) and closed his eyes momentarily. When he opened them, they were glowing, but this glow was different.

There was a blue light from the blade as the two pieces came closer and fixed. Slowly the blade began spinning, faster and faster.

Tessa stared in awe. "You fixed it!"

"Yeah, yeah," Kenji said, waving it off."Now, I'm afraid I have a rampaging empress and a crazy brother to catch, so I'd better get going."

"We need to find Gou. Fast!" Kenji said to the Bladecrushers, voice urgent.

"Don't worry, Kenji." Rin said. "Detective Rin Kon is on the box!"

"I think you mean case, Rin," Kouren said.

"This isn't a joke!" Kenji snapped.

"Right…sorry."

Kenji glanced at the audience and immediately found who he was looking for. Upon following his gaze, the Bladecrushers saw a teenager with fiery red hair set in spikes, black-trimmed red trench coat flowing to his shins and a pair of startling green eyes staring directly at Kenji. No, not just staring. Glaring. Kenji glared back and turned towards the exit.

"We're leaving."

 **x.x.x**

'They're weak,' Gou thought, walking through the streets. 'I beat her in a matter of minutes!'

He continued with his stroll until he heard the familiar sound of metal clashing. He had arrived at a small abandoned warehouse. His curiosity getting the better of him, he stepped inside.

It was a girl. She was around sixteen, with light pink hair tied in a ponytail on her left. Sensing that she wasn't alone, the teen turned and the two locked eyes, crimson orbs burning against the girl's brown ones.

"Gou Hiwatari," the girl said, tone surprised.

"Kogo…" Gou said as realization dawned upon him.

She looked deeper into his eyes as though searching for something before her eyebrows knitted with genuine concern. "He got you too."

 **x.x.x**

"You called, sir?" a young woman asked. Her face wasn't visible just yet **(just imagine you're viewing her from a lower level)** but she was wearing a royal blue ball gown with elaborate silver designs. A rather thick mane if wavy, azure blue hair fell to her waist.

She was in an office. The wall in front of her was made of nothing but glass. A black chair was facing the glass and over the back, the girl could see a mop of scarlet hair.

"Ah, Vivian," a familiar voice said softly. "You certainly took your merry time getting here."

"I was in the middle of a battle," the girl answered. She spoke with a heavy British accent.

"And?" Ren asked, seemingly interested.

"And Emily interrupted."

Ren smirked. Of course, Emily would interrupt. She was weak, too. Emotionally weak.

"I doubt that's why you called me, though," the girl, presumably named Vivian, said.

"Vivian, what do you think of the name Evangeline?" Ren asked.

"Evangeline? Isn't that Kogo's name?" she asked.

"It is. Though, I highly doubt she's the only Evangeline in existence."

"Well, then…I suppose its fine. Rather girly, though."

Ren laughed softly. "Girly? Well, don't say that in front of her, Vivian, it could lead to war."

"She's the tomboy type?"

"Yes," Ren said with a smirk. "Ironic for someone with pink hair. Do you know what it means?"

"No."

"Evangeline means 'the bringer of good news'. It doesn't fit her, though, because the only thing she's done for the past few years is get in my way." Ren said, clenching a fist. "And now, she's pulled a rather troublesome feat, I'm afraid."

He spun around, finally facing his company. She was sixteen and rather beautiful with milky skin, and azure blue bangs covering her forehead. Her midnight blue eyes would have been pretty had they not been giving off an eerie glow.

"And there is one person who will undoubtedly follow in her footsteps," Ren continued, picking up a pencil from his desk and twirling it in his fingers.

"Who?" Vivian asked.

Ren smirked, as though it was obvious. "Gou Hiwatari, of course."

"That little Russian brat with blue face paint?" the girl asked.

Ren smirked with amusement. "Yes, though he's representing Japan. He'll be on his way to Europe very soon and when he's here, Vivian, I want you to" - he snapped the pencil in two - "break him beyond repair."

 **x.x.x**

"Hey!" Evangeline exclaimed as her duo haired opponent sunk into unconsciousness. "Oh, come on, Gou! Man up a little would ya?"

Evangeline stared at the bey-dish beside her where a crimson blade lay still and a grey blade was spinning. 'He's stronger than I thought.'

She sat on the ground and winced as she saw blood trickling down her arms. She smirked. "Definitely Ren's doing."

'I guess Uncle's probably looking for him.' She thought with a sigh, taking out her phone. 'Better tell him he's here.'

She pressed the phone against her ear and almost immediately a voice answered,

 _"Evie! What's wrong? Are you hurt? Were you mugged? Is someone trying to kidnap you?"_

Evie laughed. "Uncle!"

 _"What? I'm just worried."_

"I've found Gou and…well…he's unconscious."

 _"Gou? He's unconscious? How?"_

"You really need to calm down."

A deep breath on the other line. _"Sorry. It's just that Kai's here and he's really tense and I've never seen Kai so tense before and it turns out its kinda infectious so I'm pretty tense too."_

"Wow. Okay, listen. I was training and Gou turned up and I saw that his eyes were glowing and that only happens when Ren's involved somehow so I challenged him to a battle and I beat him so now he's unconscious but he should return to his senses when he wakes up," she took a deep breath. "And I'm not exactly in perfect condition either."

Her uncle took a deep breath and said in a determined tone only he could muster. _"Evie, we're on our way."_

 **x.x.x**

"EVIE!"

"Tyson, keep your voice down!"

Evie ran to the door and smirked to see Tyson and Kai bickering. "Uncle, don't you think you're a little too old to be arguing on the road like a kid?"

Tyson turned and ran to give her a hug. "Evie, you okay? Nothing broken, nothing bruised?"

"Bruised? Yes. Broken? No."

"You sure about that?" Kenji asked, coming from behind. He was followed by the rest of the Bladecrushers.

Evie smiled down at him. "You two aren't the only ones who've lost a Beybattle, you know. I think I'll live."

She ruffled his hair and Kenji didn't bother hiding his dislike for the gesture.

"So, who is this again?" Kai asked, Gou in his arms.

"This," Tyson said, "Is Evangeline Granger. Hiro's kid. My niece."

Kai's eyes widened. "Hiro has a kid?"

"Well...duh!" Evie said. A smile graced her face when she saw Makoto and Markus. "S'up, guys?"

"Evie!" the boys exclaimed in delight.

"Hey, Kouren, Rin!"

Kouren waved while Rin asked. "Uh...I don't remember you."

"I guess you don't know me yet. I'm Evie. Makoto's cousin."

"She's crazy strong," Makoto said.

"Yeah!" Kouren added. "She's won three World Championships in a row."

Evie smiled but her eyes remained dull. "I think Ren deserves the credit for that. He's a lot stronger than me. I learnt that the hard way."

"So you're telling me that Ren mysteriously appeared and attacked Gou?" Evie asked incredulously once they reached the mansion and explained everything.

"That's what I think. He didn't attack me, though. He challenged me and I accepted and...lost." Kenji said.

"Isn't that illegal. To attack a member of an opposing team before a match?" she asked Tyson.

"Afraid not." Tyson said. "Ren isn't an official member of the Shooting Stars and there's nothing in the rules against what he's done. Besides, we have no proof."

Evie sighed, before her eyes widened. "Kenji, you're saying he targeted you too?"

"Uh huh."

"This goes way deeper than I thought." Evie breathed. "I thought he was targeting me as a rival but I can see he has an ulterior motive."

"Kogo, listen," Kenji said.

"That's it!" she exclaimed.

"What?"

"Kogo!"

"That's your nickname," Makoto reminded.

"Yeah. It means 'The Empress'," she turned to Kenji. "Aren't you called the Emperor of the Sea?"

"I am. Why?"

"Exactly," she pressed. "Why?"

"Uh...because my blade is the Empress of Water, Brigelle?"

"What's Gou's blade?"

"Flame Empress Drigelle," Kai answered.

"What does Empress mean?" Rin asked.

"Queen...kinda," Markus said.

"That reminds me of a bedtime story!" Rin exclaimed.

"Rin, now's not the time," Kouren said but Evie cut her.

"What did it say?"

"There is a Queen for each element and every bit-beast is somehow related to that element." Rin said.

"If someone can capture them and use their power, they can control all the bit beasts in the world. And with that kind of power they can take over the world, too."

Evie clenched her fists. "He's targeting the four Empresses."

"He's planning world domination?" Makoto asked.

"Sure looks like it," Kenji said.

"No offence to you, Evie, but it looks like your BFF has seriously lost it," Makoto said. "I mean who in their right minds would want to conquer the world?"

A look of hurt passed across Evie's face before she said, "I need some air," and left.

"That was abrupt," Makoto said staring after his cousin

"Makoto," Tyson said.

"What?" Makoto asked, slightly confused at his cousin's sudden departure. "How was I supposed to know she's still soft on… _that guy_?"

Tyson shook his head and sighed. "You'll understand when you're older."

 **x.x.x**

"Evie," Tyson began hesitantly as he reached his niece, who was sitting on a rock, face buried in her palms, back facing Tyson.

'I'm fine, Uncle. You don't have to worry."

She was not _fine._ Of course Tyson would worry. That was what overprotective uncles were for, right?

"Mind if I join you?" he asked.

Evie wiped her cheeks with her hand and said, "I guess not."

"Makoto's just a kid, you know. There's no way he understands," he said

"He may be just a kid but at least he can grasp reality," Evie said, tears forming in her eyes. "Who am I kidding? I'm a fool to think he's the same Ren I befriended six years ago. The ten-year-old boy with shaggy red hair who had never heard of beyblading. The eleven-year-old boy who I asked to join my team. The twelve-year-old boy who invited _me_ to join _him_ as he took the' beyblading world by storm'," she smiled faintly at the memory. "Those were his very words. He was the thirteen-year-old boy who cried by himself in a large tree in the park, tormented by his father. He was the fourteen-year-old boy who pushed me aside when I came to him, claiming to be happier than ever when his father disowned him." Tears flowed down her cheeks. "When he was fifteen, he came to me. In a forest," she slipped her sleeve off her shoulder. Just below her shoulder was a deep scar. "And left this as a parting gift. I knew I'd lost him. My best friend is gone!"

Tyson pulled her into a hug and she hugged him back, crying onto his shoulder. When she eventually pulled away, Tyson mustered up the courage to ask.

"How did you get that scar?"

"He challenged me to a beybattle and…I was naïve enough to accept. The difference in our abilities was obvious. He was so much stronger than me. And once again, I showcased my remarkable inability to grasp reality. To end the match, Ren hit my blade with terrifying precision, cutting both my arm, and the tree behind me. He always likes a dramatic exit," she ended with a smile. One look at that smile and Tyson knew that she had been putting up a brave face for the past three years, always crying silently for the friend she once had.

 **x.x.x**

"Welcome, folks, to the Block B semi-finals of the Beyblade World Championships!" Daichi's voice echoed through the room. The entire group was gathered in a room, watching TV. Gou had finally woken up and, as Evie had predicted, seemed completely normal (except for the fact that he seemed pretty disturbed by the thought of facing Tessa).

"Let's welcome the teams! Representing Africa, give it up for the Raging Warriors!" Daichi yelled with the everlasting enthusiasm he was known for. "Their opponents will be the defending champions…the EBA Shooting Stars!"

Light flooded through the arena, revealing three teenagers standing on each side of a beyblade dish. On the right were two boys in camouflage pants and green shirts and markings on their cheeks that looked suspiciously like mud. One had dark brown hair, dark tan skin and a dagger on his belt along with all the equipment and the other had black hair, the same complexion as the other boy and a gun on his belt. The Bladecrushers vaguely wondered whether such weapons were allowed in the arena. Beside them was girl in a light brown hat, her shoulder-length dark hair tied in two pigtails. She, too, was wearing a green shirt with camouflage shorts. A whip rested on her belt.

Their opponents, the EBA Shooting Stars, consisted of a boy around sixteen or seventeen, with shaggy, dark green hair that stuck up all over the place **(that messy hair most male anime characters have)** and green eyes. On his right hand was a deep green glove that covered his palm, middle finger and ring finger, while the glove on his left hand covered his palm and middle finger. His outfit consisted of a green jacket (unbuttoned) over a grey shirt with the collar button undone and black trousers.

Beside him was a boy around the same age as him, with spiky maroon hair, purple slit-like pupils in his eyes and a menacing smirk that revealed two fang-like canines. Around his neck was a necklace with a fang hanging on it. He wore a high collared long maroon coat with his sleeves torn off under a dark shirt and black jeans. On his right wrist was a loose black wrist band.

In front of them was a beautiful girl, with wavy waist-length azure blue hair and midnight blue eyes. She was sporting a royal blue ball gown with elaborate silver designs all over it.

"The first match will take place between Jacinta Brown and Sebastian Cuartero, the representative from Spain!"

The African girl stepped forward and the guy with green hair followed.

"Are you ready?" Daichi asked, to which both players nodded.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Let it rip!"

 **~five minutes later~**

"A…and Sebastian Cuartero wins!" Daichi announced to a stunned crowd. "Uh…next up is Lucas Martinson versus the British representative, Vivian Beauregard!"

This time, the guy with the dagger and the blue haired girl stepped forward, with the girl's midnight blue eyes giving off an ominous glow.

"Three, two, one,"

"Let it rip!"

Almost as soon as the blades had landed in the dish, Vivian ordered, "Tear it apart, my faithful Empress."

Massive tornados filled the stadium and the boy's blade was sucked into them in a matter of seconds. The Bladecrushers watched in horror as the poor boy's blade was thrown around relentlessly. Two tornados came close to each other, compressing the blade within them.

"No!" Lucas yelled.

Vivian smirked. "Destroy it!"

The tornados crushed the blade until all that was left were splinters.

"T…the winner is Vivian Beauregard," Daichi stated, once again stunned. "With that, the Shooting Stars get to qualify for the finals Where they will be facing the Bladecrushers!"

Evie breathed. "Looks we found the fourth Empress."

 **x.x.x**

 **So….how was it? Tell me with your reviews. Which reminds me:**

 _ **Special thanks to: MagicalPhoenix12 and PhoenixPrincess(Guest reviewer). Ezabellaa reviewed for chapter 9 and 10 so thanks for that too.**_

 **So…who's the fourth Empress? I know it's kinda obvious.**

 **Do you think the EBA Shooting Stars are scary enough? Tell me what you think.**

 **Until next time,**

 **~Chun =)**


	13. Final Destination, France

**Hey everyone! I'm back with another chapter of the Bladecrushers. I know it's been a long time but I was having a hard time writing this.**

 **Oh, and I almost forgot, the guy in the picture is Ren.**

 **Oh, and another thing, I've edited the story till chapter 9, so if you wanna re-read, go ahead(It's still pretty much the same so don't get your hopes up).**

 **Without further ado, let's start!**

 **x.x.x**

"Rin," Kouren whispered, shaking the raven haired teen. "Wake up!"

Rin mumbled something in her sleep and turned over.

'Why are all of them so desperate to get some sleep?' Kouren thought.

"Pst," Kouren tried again, this time, towering over their captain. "Gou."

Gou's eyes shot open in an instant. "What's wrong?"

"N…nothing," Kouren said, slightly alarmed at Gou's sudden reaction.

The crimson eyed teen sighed. "What time is it?"

"It's past sunrise, if that's what you mean," Kouren answered. Gou was usually the first one awake.

"How did I sleep for such a long time?" Gou wondered aloud.

"Maybe it's because you still haven't recovered completely?" Kouren suggested.

"I'm perfectly fine."

Hesitantly, Kouren reached out and touched Gou's forehead. The boy's whole body stiffened when they made contact.

"You have a slight temperature," she told him.

"I feel fine." Gou persisted.

"It could get worse if you keep denying it like that, Gou."

"Whatever," Gou muttered, getting up.

"I think it's best if you don't disappear today," Kouren said.

"I don't usually take orders from little girls, but I guess I'll make an exception. Especially since I don't know my way around France." Gou said before walking off to the bathroom.

 **x.x.x**

"MAKOTO!" the Bladecrushers (minus Gou, obviously) yelled in unison.

They were all towering over Makoto, who was still fast asleep in bed.

'How can he sleep through that commotion?' Gou thought. He was sitting on the bed next to Makoto's, arms crossed and silently observing the scene with mild amusement.

"Should we launch a beyblade in his mouth?" Markus asked.

"No way!" Kouren said.

"Drop a smelly sock in his mouth?" Rin suggested.

"Shut up!" Kouren protested. "You guys are disgusting!"

"W…what? It was just a thought." Rin defended.

"Oh…I got it!" Markus exclaimed, jumping. Apparently his hyperactive side had just clicked in. "Let's deprive him of oxygen!"

"How?" Kouren asked.

"Well…he could put on an astronaut's helmet," the blonde suggested.

"And where do you expect to find one of those?" Kouren asked.

"Oh…right."

"Let's try the old chili-paper-in-the-mouth trick!" Rin exclaimed.

"Chili _paper_?" Markus asked.

Kouren sweat-dropped, "Rin, I think you mean chili pepper."

Rin blushed. "Never mind. Now, does anyone have any of these…chili _pepper-_ thingies?"

 **~five minutes later~**

"AAAH! Hot, hot, hot!" Makoto yelled, running around the room in circles, arms flailing, eyes wide.

He came to an abrupt halt and glared at the team who were watching him with wide eyes, or in Gou's case, with an emotionless face that betrayed no expression.

"Alright," Makoto said, eyeing each of them in turn. "Which one of you did it?"

"Hey, this was the best way," Rin shrugged. "Markie wanted to launch a beyblade in your mouth."

"You wanted to drop a smelly sock in his mouth!" Markus reminded.

"Well…Markie was going to drive you from oxygen by making you wear an astronomer's helmet," Rin said, crossing her arms.

"Markie was going to 'drive me from oxygen by making me wear an astronomer's helmet'?" Makoto repeated incredulously. "Since when do astronomers wear helmets? And how come I've never heard of this place called Oxygen? And isn't Markie a little too young to drive?"

"I think what Rin meant to say was that Markus suggested to ' _deprive_ you _of_ oxygen by putting an _astronaut's_ helmet on you'," Kouren corrected.

Makoto stared at Markus, "What did I ever do to you?"

"Hey, don't look at me," Markus said. " It was Rin's idea to use the chili pepper."

At that moment, the door opened and Tyson walked in.

"You kids still aren't ready yet?" he asked, staring at them in surprise.

"Makoto was asleep!" Kouren exclaimed.

Makoto grinned. "Well, I'm up now so what are we waiting for?"

 **x.x.x**

"Gou! Come on!" Kouren said, camera in her hand, clicking pictures with the rest of them.

"No thanks," Gou said. He was leaning against a pillar, arms crossed across his chest. He closed his eyes with a sigh.

 _Click!_

Gou opened his eyes to see Makoto, Markus and Rin standing beside him, grinning. Kouren was in front of them, camera in her hand.

"SELFIE!" she exclaimed, snapping multiple photos.

"I thought you'd notice us standing beside you," Makoto told Gou with a laugh. "But you didn't!

"Shut up," Gou said.

"Okay, guys. One more," Kouren said, as she snapped three more photos.

"I thought you said one," Markus reminded.

"Does it matter how many?" Kouren asked, eyes fixed on the camera as she saw the results. "Aw…Rin, you ruined it."

She showed them a picture, where Markus and Makoto were grinning, Gou looked annoyed and Rin was staring somewhere else.

"What were you looking at?" Kouren asked.

"That," Rin said, pointing to a building in the distance. " It's pretty big."

"Well that's the EBA's main building so of course it's big," Kouren said distractedly (probably trying to delete that picture).

"Wait," Makoto said. "The EBA's headquarters are _right there?_ "

"It's actually much farther than it looks," Markus told him.

"I got it!" Rin said, clapping her hands. "Let's speak inside!"

" _Speak_ inside?"Makoto asked, tilting his head.

Kouren looked up wearily. "Please don't tell me you meant _sneak_ inside."

"Yeah!" Rin exclaimed. "That's exactly what I meant!"

"Sneak inside the EBA?" Markus asked, lines of worry forming on his face.

"Let's do it!" Makoto said, grinning.

"You have to be insane to try to sneak inside the EBA!" Markus exclaimed.

"Yeah. They probably have security," Gou said, speaking after a long period of silence.

"Well, we can evade it," Kouren suggested.

"I don't think you can," Markus said. "The EBA's security isn't something a twelve-year-old can get past."

Kouren smirked. "Challenge accepted."

"You do know that what you're trying to do is against the rules, right?" Gou asked.

Makoto stared at him. "It is?"

Kouren typed something on her laptop and cleared her throat. "Let's see…uh…since we're an official team, we'll be breaking a ton of rules to pieces by doing this."

"Ah man," Rin said. "It was gonna be so much fun."

"Well," Kouren began with a devilish smirk. "We haven't had fun for a while…"

"Yeah!" Makoto said."When was the last time we secretly broke the rules?"

"Before the world Championships began?" Markus suggested.

"Exactly," said Kouren. "So…it's totally worth it!"

"No it's not!" Markus persisted. "Ren will probably catch you in an instant."

Kouren squealed. "That would mean that I'll get a chance to meet Ren Katsuragi!"

"Careful what you wish for," Gou muttered under his breath.

"Oh come on!" Kouren said. "Ren Katsuragi! I mean, that guy is probably the strongest beyblader in the entire world!"

"He's also probably the world's biggest jerk," Makoto reminded. "But we should totally sneak inside! Maybe we can get him arrested!"

"Or maybe you can get us all kicked out of the World Championships," Gou said with a glare. Markus nodded in agreement.

"Well, if no one discovers us, we'll be safe," Kouren reasoned. " So I'm going."

"Me too," Makoto said. "What about you, Rin?

"I'm a little sleepy," Rin said with a yawn. "But fine. Guess I'll go."

"I'm going back," Gou said.

"Me too," Markus put in. "I've had enough of Ren Katsuragi for a while now."

 **x.x.x**

Emily Tate walked through the corridors of the EBA with purpose, blue-grey eyes narrowed behind her large, round spectacles, mouth pressed into a thin line.

"Mrs. Tate, you seem…disturbed," said a young man in a lab coat.

"That's an understatement, Henry," Emily said wearily. "He's driving me crazy!"

"Perhaps he's just a little..uh..concerned. You know, with the finals so close."

"If he were even the slightest bit concerned he wouldn't disappear like that!" Emily raged. "I've searched the whole building and I still can't find him!"

"Try searching the gardens," Henry suggested. "You know how much he loves nature."

Emily felt like slapping herself. Of course, he was in the gardens. How could she have missed that?

Therefore, a few moments later, Emily was in the gardens.

"Ren!" she yelled at the top of her voice. "Quit hiding and come out!"

"And just who would I be hiding from? You?" came a soft, amused voice.

Emily looked around but found no one.

"Sure you don't need those glasses checked, Emily?" the same voice asked. "I'm right here."

Emily's eyes widened. "Don't tell me…"

She looked up to see Ren sitting casually on a thick tree branch, an arm resting on his knee, smirking down at her. He seemed quite comfortable.

'How on earth did he get up there?' she thought to herself.

"You get down from there right now, so I can murder you with my own hands!" Emily said out loud, causing Ren to smirk.

"Oh, Emily, you'll be imprisoned for life for murdering a so-called legend," Ren said with a smirk, effortlessly jumping down from the tree. "Honestly, they treat me like some kind of hero…"

"And you're the exact opposite," Emily finished, glaring at the scarlet haired teen in front of her.

Ren slid his hands in his pockets and walked toward Emily until he was right beside her.

"You humans are such gullible creatures," he whispered into her ears. "Your inability to grasp reality renders you incapable of spotting something that's sitting right in front of you."

"Are you suggesting you're not human?" Emily asked, raising her eyebrow.

Ren let out a soft laugh.

"I believe we have more pressing matters than that," he said. "Now, why did you want to kill me?"

 **x.x.x**

"I've got it!" Kouren whispered triumphantly. The three were disguised as a random bush as Kouren tried to hack into the security system.

"Now, listen," Kouren said. "There's a small door at the back and there are no guards. It's supposed to be guarded by computers. I can divert the cameras and we'll sneak in, okay?"

The other two nodded vigorously. Together, they picked up their disguise and tip-toed to said back door. It was a miracle no one wondered why there was a moving bush right in front of their back door.

"On three," Kouren informed. "One…two…three."

She pressed a button on her laptop and the door slid open. Quick as a flash, the three of them shot inside.

"I can't believe I'm inside the EBA!" Kouren squealed.

"Kouren, shhh," Makoto said. "At this rate, Katsuragi really will catch us in an instant."

"What are the chances of him just strolling down the same corridor as us?" Kouren asked in a whisper.

"Uh, guys," Rin said. "I know I make a lot of mistakes but I think I'm right when I say…a lot."

They turned around in horror just as Emily turned a corner, closely followed by Ren. As fast as they could, the Bladecrushers (well, three of them, at least) slipped into a random room, hoping that it would be empty.

To their immense relief, it was. But the relief was short-lived.

"Emily, wasn't that door closed just a moment ago?" they heard Ren ask.

Kouren inhaled sharply while Makoto signaled Rin to be quiet. They had left the door ajar.

"Must be one of the staff," Emily said flatly.

They waited till the footsteps died down.

"Three cheers to Aunt Emily," Kouren mumbled.

"Hip, hip, hooray!" Rin whispered.

"I don't think this is the right time to be cheering," Makoto said.

Kouren peeked from the crack in the door. "All clear, guys."

Together, they continued their very risky adventure.

 **x.x.x**

"No, no…stop it!" a teenage boy begged, stepping back in pure fear.

His opponent merely laughed, his maroon hair flying haphazardly, slit-like violet eyes glinting with menace, his merciless grin revealing two fang-like canines.

"Tear it to shreds," he ordered his blade.

"Erik, no…don't do this…please," the boy whimpered.

"For Heaven's sake, Erik, quit showing off and end it already," said another male voice.

Erik turned to see a young man with messy green hair and eyes of the same color.

"What's the matter with you, Sebastian?" Erik asked. "Jealous?"

"As if," Sebastian snorted. "But look at the kid. He's shaking."

"It's called trembling, you fool," Erik hissed.

"All the same, Ren will be furious if he finds him like that."

Erik gave the boy his menacing grin, making him cower. "Good, then. I hope Ren does find him."

Sebastian's eyes narrowed. "Didn't Ren tell you _not_ to battle until the researchers say so?"

"This isn't a battle," Erik said, his grin widening. "In a battle, both players contribute equally. Whereas I'm only crushing him."

The boy whimpered yet again, much to Erik's pleasure.

"Alright, destroy him!" Erik ordered his blade.

The boy fell to his knees, trembling all over as Erik's blade shattered his own.

The sound of the boy's sobs and Erik's laughs echoed through the room.

 **x.x.x**

Markus rolled on his bed and let out a yawn. "This is so boring."

Gou was sitting on the window sill, staring out the window, deep in thought.

Markus poked him, making him jump.

"Whoa," Markus said. "You sure you're okay?"

"Fine," Gou said.

"Is something bothering you?" Markus tried again.

"No."

"Is it Ren?"

Gou sighed. "Maybe."

"What is it?"

"I was…" Gou began, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Saying it would be admitting it. There was no way he was going to admit something like that.

"Scared?" Markus suggested.

"No, of course not," Gou lied.

"It's okay," Markus said with a sigh. "It took me a while to figure this out but I think Ren radiates fear."

"Radiates fear?" Gou repeated skeptically.

"Yes," Markus said. "He's known for striking fear into his opponents' hearts. And he got that reputation at age eleven. So… I'm ready to bet he's mastered that ability and taken it to the next level."

"So you're saying that Ren _literally_ radiates fear?" Gou asked.

"He can also mess with your emotions."

"So that's why…" Gou muttered.

Ren's words rang in his mind,

 _"You have such interesting emotions, Gou. Fear, anger and fear again. I can almost feel you trembling."_

During his battle, Gou had felt fear and anger in alternative waves. He had felt a burst of anger when he had spotted Ren. Those were _his_ emotions. And then, he had begun to experience fear. The fear Ren was 'radiating', as Markus put it.

But, if Ren could radiate fear, mess with a person's emotions and be in multiple places at once…was he even human?

 **x.x.x**

"This is so exciting," Kouren squealed.

"Yeah, last time we did this was when we tied to bunk off," Makoto whispered.

"Someone's coming," Rin whispered.

They ran behind a large machine just as a guy in a lab coat passed them.

Makoto peeked from the side. "Let's go."

They ran and turned a corner, arriving in a corridor with a wall made from glass that gave them a full view of a training room down below. Hundreds of beybladers stood before small dishes in pairs, being monitored by various researchers.

They watched a pair as they got ready to launch.

"Let it rip!"

The bladers were wearing strange black gloves. As the first blade attacked, the owner of the second winced.

"The bladers can feel their blades' damage," Kouren realized.

"Like Gou?" Makoto asked.

"I think it's because of the gloves," Kouren said.

"But Gou doesn't wear any gloves," Rin reminded.

They gasped as a blader fell to the ground screaming. His opponent was a beautiful girl with thick, azure blue hair and glowing midnight blue eyes.

Makoto's eyes narrowed. "Isn't that?"

"Vivian Beauregard," Kouren finished.

A blade landed at the girl's feet. Presumably, it was her opponent's.

She smiled coldly at the piece of metal and crushed it with her foot. The boy stared at it with shock and fear.

She gave another cold smile and said, "Weakness is a crime."

 **x.x.x**

"Gou," Markus whispered. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Gou nodded. They were sitting in what looked like a very large pipe.

"Why are we here again?" Markus asked.

"I have a feeling," Gou whispered, crawling forward.

"Okay," Markus said, following. "Could you be a little more precise?"

Gou took a deep breath. "I think they're in trouble."

"So..uh..how are we going to find them?" Markus asked again.

"Instinct."

"Okay…" Markus said, feeling weird.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" Gou asked abruptly after a few minutes of silence.

"Why would I be afraid of you?" Markus asked.

"Aren't you afraid of anyone who can do the _'eye glow-y thingy'_ , as Makoto calls it?"

"Well…I was," Markus said, before smiling, "But I know you wouldn't hurt me…so I have no reason to be scared."

Gou stared at him, before cracking a small smile, "You're a strange bunch, the four of you."

A while later, Gou stopped abruptly, causing Markus to bump into him.

"Sorry, " the blonde said, rubbing his head, but Gou wasn't listening.

"Isn't that Makoto?" he asked, staring through the whole in the pipe.

Markus came over. "Yeah. That's them."

"They're headed straight for the beams!" Gou whispered in alarm.

"I don't see any," Markus said squinting, but Gou grabbed his hand and jumped. Markus barely managed to keep himself from screaming. They landed right in front of their team.

"What are you doing here?" Makoto asked in a whisper.

"Saving you," Gou replied through gritted teeth. "You were about to walk straight into those laser beams."

He pointed to a strange device on either side of the corridor.

"Guys," Markus said. "I think it's best if we get going. This is risky."

"What's life without a little risk?" Makoto said.

"I'm serious," Markus argued. "What if someone finds us? What if it's Mum?"

"Your mum's already saved us once." Kouren said.

"Yes…but what if someone else finds us…" Markus said. "Like the staff…"

"Listen," Gou said in a low voice. "Ren could be anywhere. He might even be…"

"Right behind you?" asked a soft, deadly voice.

Gou froze and closed his eyes in dread. Kouren gasped. Markus clutched Makoto's arm. Makoto glared and Rin…yawned.

Right behind them was none other than Ren Katsuragi, smirking down at them.

"Well, well, well…looks like the EBA headquarters are nothing more than a meeting spot for a group of middle schoolers," he said. It was probably the first time Gou had seen him looking...well, not as smug as usual.

Rin frowned."No, we're not meeting here. We weren't even separated."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "Really? If I remember correctly, Gou and Markus were too scared to join you."

Rin's eyes lit up as though Ren had just reminded her of a happy moment. "Oh yeah!"

"Ren, where did you go now?" Emily's voice echoed through the hallway.

"Right here, Emily," Ren called. "We have visitors."

She came down the hall and gasped when she saw the team.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, mouth set in stern line.

Kouren shifted uncomfortably, "Well…you see…"

"We were exploring," Rin cut her.

Emily and the Bladecrushers sweat-dropped.

"You know this is against the rules, don't you?" Emily said.

Kouren nodded, staring at her shoes.

Emily opened her mouth to say something but Ren beat her to it.

"It's rather disappointing to hear that neither of you know about the recent changes," Ren said. "The rules have been upgraded. Apparently, Tyson knew that his team was foolish enough to try something like this and changed the rules accordingly."

"And why don't I know about this?" Emily asked.

"That's something I should be asking you," Ren said, before turning back to the Bladecrushers. "Since getting you eliminated will be an uncharacteristic act of mercy from my side, I'll let you go. Run along now."

He sounded friendly enough, though he had the aura of someone with a few unpleasant surprises up his sleeve.

"C'mon, Emily," Ren said tiredly, before walking off.

 **x.x.x**

"Erik seemed pleased. I hope he hasn't done anything stupid this time," Emily said. They were currently in Ren's office. Right after encountering the Bladecrushers, Ren and Emily had also encountered Erik.

"As a matter of fact, he has," Ren said, spinning his chair. "He's just turned another blade to dust."

"I already have more than enough on my hands as it is," Emily said in frustration. Then she stared at Ren with suspicion. "How do you know what Erik's been doing?"

Ren sighed and stopped spinning in his chair. He stared at Emily, the tips of his fingers together.

"Do you know what I enjoy the most about this world, Emily?" he asked her.

Seemingly taken aback by the question, Emily answered a moment later. "Nature?"

"Very good," Ren said, as though he had something else in mind but found Emily's answer more fitting. "Second favorite, then."

"Manipulating people?" Emily suggested with mock politeness.

"Not quite - close enough, though." Ren laughed, then he added, "Its reading."

Emily failed to hide her shock. "Reading! But I've never seen you with a book."

"Well, you haven't known me for very long. And like I said, your inability to grasp reality renders you incapable of spotting something that's sitting right in front of you." He stared at her shrewdly. "You see, books aren't the only things meant to be read."

Emily's eyes widened. 'No it can't be,' she thought. His words rang in her mind:

 _' Your inability to grasp reality renders you incapable of spotting something that's sitting right in front of you.'_

'Don't tell me he's capable of reading…'

"People," Ren finished her thoughts aloud.

Emily stared at him with a mixture of shock, suspicion and admiration. Then, realization dawned upon her and the severity of the truth hit her with full force.

"You just read my mind!" she exclaimed.

Ren laughed softly. "No. I just guessed your thoughts. It's simple enough."

Emily glared at him, an action that only served to amuse Ren further. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.

"People are like books," he said. "They carry the story of their entire life with them." He looked at her dead in the eye. "And it's all in the eyes."

 **x.x.x**

"This is the worst day ever," Kouren said, collapsing on her bed.

"I told you it was a bad idea," Markus said.

"We get it," Makoto said grumpily. "Stop rubbing it in."

"I think it was great," Rin said happily. "We had a lot of bun!"

"We did not have _fun,_ " Kouren snapped.

Gou sighed, Ren's words still fresh in his mind:

 _'Since getting you eliminated will be an uncharacteristic act of mercy from my side, I'll let you go.'_

He dreaded to think what that meant.

 **x.x.x**

Kenji sat on the window sill of his room's window, staring into the distance. In a recent encounter with Tessa, he'd learnt of Gou's last words to her.

 _'Weakness is a crime, Ivanov. Didn't Daddy tell you that?'_

Kenji knew Gou would never say something like that. Weakness is crime? That sounded like something Ren would say, rather than Gou. With the not-very-comforting thought of his brother being controlled by Ren Katsuragi, probably the most evil beyblader of all time, Kenji turned his attention to the latter part of Gou's statement.

 _'Didn't Daddy tell you that?'_

'Daddy' was obviously Tala. But then…

'Why was Tala supposed to know about that?' he thought. Somehow, one statement kept returning to him.

 _'Weakness is a crime and those who commit crimes must be punished.'_

'Where did I hear that?' Kenji thought in exasperation. 'Does it have something to do with Tala, too?'

And that's when it hit him. Tala had been raised in the abbey, along with Kai and the others. He had recently had a nightmare from Kai's perspective, where Boris had been trying to punish his mother Katy for being 'weak'.

 _'She is weak. Weakness is a crime and those who commit crimes must be punished.'_

Those were his very words….

But if those words were something Boris had said decades ago how could a sixteen-year-old repeat them as if they were his own?

"Ren Katsuragi," Kenji muttered. "There's a lot more to you than what meets the eye."

 **x.x.x**

 **Finally! So…that's two thought-provoking statements from Ren. I'm starting to think Ren sounds a bit like…an evil Dumbledore(even though there's no way I can write a character like Dumbledore).**

 **I have an announcement: this story is coming to an end. There are only three chapters left (four at most) and I'd like to thank everyone who's supported me this far. I won't go into too much detail 'coz I might start crying but….THANK YOU SOO MUCH RUMU, SAM-CHAN, ZAFI , DEVI AND ROLLY! And, of course, my newest reviewer Phoenix Princess!**

 **On a different note, I'd like to thank Rock the Road, MagicalPhoenix12, Blue lightning of the night, Ezabellaa and PhoenixPrincess (thanks, I did work really hard on the Shooting Stars' clothes.) for reviewing chapter 12.**

 **The-next-you-know-who reviewed chapter 11 so thanks!**

 **A guest reviewer calling themselves Koko reviewed for chapter 1 so thanks a bunch, Koko.**

 **Until next time everyone (I still feel like crying),**

 **~Ar-chan T_T**


	14. Before the Finals

"Alright, you three," Kai said. He was standing outside the Bladecrushers' hotel with his hands crossed across his chest. Standing before him were Gou Hiwatari, Kenji Akagawa and Evangeline Granger.

"Why did you call us out here again?" Evie asked irritably.

"You're out here because I want to ask you something." Kai answered simply.

"Well, shoot," Kenji said.

Kai took a deep breath. "Have you ever heard the phrase 'weakness is a crime'?"

To his dread, all three nodded.

"I had a nightmare," Kenji said, eyeing the man meaningfully.

"Right," Kai said, clearly avoiding the topic. "Anyone else?"

"I…kinda said it to Tessa," Gou admitted.

" _You_ said it?" Kai asked in alarm. "Why?"

"'Coz Ren had control over his mind," Kenji said.

"As annoying as it is to admit it, Smarty Pants is right," Gou said.

"About a year ago, I had a battle with Ren. He beat me – obviously – and for a couple of days, I wasn't myself," Evie said. "Dad challenged me to a beybattle and snapped me out of it. The thing is, before Dad could save me, Ren had complete control over me, as though I was his puppet. Oh, and when he beat me in that match, he told me I was weak and that weakness-is-a-crime-stuff."

"It all goes back to Ren," Gou said thoughtfully.

"Not in my case," Kenji reminded.

"Do we know anyone who's been inside the EBA and knows how things work there?" Kai asked. " _Except_ Emily."

"Well, Markus goes to visit his mom from time to time," Gou said.

"Great."

So, a couple of minutes later, Markus had joined them.

"So…kid," Kai began uncertainly. "Ever heard the phrase 'weakness is a crime'?"

"Yeah," Markus said immediately. "It's kinda like the EBA's motto."

"The EBA has a _motto?_ " Evie asked.

Markus nodded. "I'm pretty sure Ren came up with it. Mom hates it."

Kai sighed. "It was Voltaire's motto."

"WHAT?" Gou and Kenji yelled in unison.

"Uh…who's Voltaire?" Evie asked.

"My grandfather," Kai said simply.

"Your grandfather said the same crazy stuff as Ren?" Kenji asked.

"Stop making it sound like he's mad!" Evie protested.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Kogo," Kenji said with a smirk that definitely didn't mean something good, "I had no idea you still had feelings – "

"SHUT UP!" Evie yelled, face bright red.

"Save your teenage rants for later," Kai said in that typical grown-up way adults are known for, a vein popping on his head.

"Since when do you say 'sorry'?" Gou asked.

"The point is," Kai persisted, raising his voice, "Ren has some connection with Voltaire."

"Isn't Voltaire dead?" Gou asked.

"That's creepy," Markus said.

"Maybe he has some sort of item that has remains of Voltaire's spirit?" Evie suggested.

"Voltaire's not a bit-beast!" Gou reminded.

"Bit-beasts aren't the only creatures that can be stored in items," Evie defended.

"Have you been talking to Rin again?" Markus asked wearily.

"Ren was in my dream," Kenji reminded. "Behind Voltaire."

"Uh…sorry to interrupt," Markus said. "But can I go? I was kinda in the middle of training."

Kai nodded and the boy ran off.

"Ren said a bunch of stuff about you when I fought him," Gou said, as though there had been no interruption.

"Like what?" Kai asked.

"Like…'you look just like your dad'…"

"Everyone tells you that," Kai interrupted.

"Yes, but it seemed to remind him that he had to destroy my blade….but then, he changed his mind." Gou said thoughtfully.

Kenji's eyes narrowed. "You can't have been in perfect condition in a battle against Ren Katsuragi. When did he tell you that?"

"Well, I was about to pass out, I think," Gou said.

"Ever been in a battle where you were 'about to pass out'?" Kenji asked Kai.

"I don't remember any specific battle where I was 'about to pass out'," Kai said. "Let's see…I fought Ray, and almost passed out, I fought Tyson and passed out for, like, a minute or so…and when I fought Brooklyn…"

"Who's Brooklyn?" Gou asked.

"A so-called prodigy. He only lost one match in his entire career as a beyblader and that was against Kai," Kenji answered with a roll of the eyes, as though he couldn't believe Gou's ignorance.

Evie nodded. "Dad was his coach for a while, actually. He said that Brooklyn was the most talented blader

"Hang on," Gou said, memories rushing back to him.

 _You look just like your Dad, Gou. Though, this time, I won't lose._

"What?" Kenji asked.

"He said something like this," Gou said, repeating Ren's words.

"'Though, this time I won't lose'?" Kenji repeated. " Someone who would remember every loss he ever faced would probably be a guy who didn't lose very often."

"Ren doesn't lose very often," Evie said. "I mean, I think he's only lost once in his entire life."

"HE HAS?" the brothers asked in unison.

"Well yeah," Evie said. "You guys were there, rooting for the opposition."

"Wait…you mean to tell me that Trinich's the only person who's ever defeated Ren?" Kenji asked disbelievingly.

"Perfect. The last thing we need is another Brooklyn," Kai muttered.

"Trinich is…way cooler than I thought," Gou said.

"Anyway," Kai said, steering the conversation back to the problem at hand. "I know Brooklyn definitely didn't lose very often," Kai said. "But it doesn't make any sense. I mean, I _know_ I've never fought the redheaded kid before…"

"Maybe he's trying to avenge Brooklyn?" Gou suggested.

"That is a possibility," Kai said, deep in thought. "Brooklyn disappeared after BEGA was taken down so he could've met him."

"Ren was an over-protected typical rich kid, living in his dad's shadow." Evie said. "He didn't exactly have as much freedom as these two."

"And you're forgetting a basic detail," Kenji said. "He used the word ' _I'_."

"Right," Kai said. "He's using Voltaire's motto, talking like Brooklyn and planning world domination?"

"Yep, that's just about it." Kenji said. "All that cheerful stuff every villain masters."

His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"He's not a villain!" Evie protested.

"Uh huh," Kenji said, nodding as if he agreed. "Dominating the world is the nicest thing anyone could have done, isn't it?"

"Listen, he was a really nice guy " – Kenji coughed meaningfully – "before his match with Trinich. He was raised to succeed and that loss really got to him," Evie said, glaring at Kenji.

"Why are you so intent on defending him?" Gou asked.

Kenji sighed. "I'll explain when you're older."

"We're the same age!" Gou protested.

"You're denser than I thought, unfortunately, but give it a few years and you'll do fine, Gou," Kenji said, patting the boy's shoulder.

"Ask Trinich if you don't believe me," Evie said. "He was so nice, it was almost unnerving."

"Point proven," Kenji said. "Being 'unnervingly nice' isn't exactly good."

"Why don't you two bicker once I'm done?" Kai said, an anime vein on his head.

"Well, be quick about it, then," Kenji said.

"You said Ren was nice," Kai said, looking at Evie. "Define 'nice'."

"The kind of nice you expect from a person who's been raised to believe he's nothing but a burden and a good-for-nothing-nerd."

"So, basically, the guy had a low self-esteem," Kai said.

Evie nodded. "It was ironic 'coz he was perfect at whatever he did. Including beyblade."

"I see," Kai said.

"So, how did he turn into the Ren Katsuragi we know and love?" Kenji asked, placing a delicate hint of sarcasm on _love._

"His dad found out he'd been beyblading when Ren joined the world championship. The guy was furious but he decided to give Ren a 'chance' as long as he won. And he did."

"That doesn't explain anything," Gou said irritably.

"Have you noticed that you have the ability to make something ten times longer than it already is?" Kenji asked with mock politeness.

"Shut up!" Evie said. "Anyway, two years later, Ren suddenly started acting weird. Just before his battle with Trinich. He was actually quite fine during the battle but near the end…he lost control. Of course, Trinich didn't realize what was going on and he attacked. Ren's blade was going haywire, which made defeating him harder or easier depending on the opponent. For Trinich, it was easy. He's a smart kid, I guess."

"So, you used sixty-eight words to say _that?_ " Kenji asked incredulously.

"You were counting?!" Gou asked/exclaimed.

"You mock me one more time, kid, and I'll punch you," Evie threatened.

"I'm trembling with fear," Kenji said sarcastically.

"Give him one on my behalf as well," Kai said.

"You traitor!" Kenji exclaimed.

"Kenji, remember when you almost killed me?" Gou asked suddenly.

Kenji looked aside, mischievous aura evaporating in an instant. "How could I forget?"

Gou face-palmed. "No. That time when you used an arrow."

Kenji brightened visibly and nodded.

"Remember the battle?"

His face darkened yet again. "Y…yeah. I lost control."

"And did you…see…anyone?" Gou asked uncertainly.

"I did," Kenji said, giving the other teen a suspicious look. "Don't tell me you've been…"

"Seeing Ren?" Gou finished.

Kenji nodded.

"I honestly don't see why that's such a big deal," Evie said.

"Ren appears out of nowhere, gives you a weird look and disappears," Kenji said. "No offence, Kogo, but I think spending three years with Ren might have changed you idea of 'normal'."

"When you've been dealing with such stuff for more than a year, you get used to it. Whining about it doesn't get you anywhere," Evie said.

"SO," Kai said, raising his voice over the arguing teens. "So far we've found out that Ren has some sort of connection to Brooklyn and Voltaire and back when he was a kid, he was a lot more likeable."

Evie glared at Kenji in advance as a precaution for another verbal assault from the boy, but found that Kenji preferred to keep quiet, his hands in his pockets, staring at the ground, apparently deep in thought.

"Hang on," Gou said. "If Ren was okay as a kid, doesn't that give rise to the possibility of him being under control as well?"

Evie gasped. "That's got to be it!"

"Yes, but who?" Kenji asked.

"His father?" Gou suggested.

"If he wanted to manipulate Ren, he wouldn't have thrown him out," Kenji reminded.

"Maybe he doesn't need anyone to control him?" Gou tried again. "I mean, he can do all sorts if stuff normal humans can't. like appearing in two places at once. Maybe he isn't human."

"Say what?" Evie exclaimed incredulously. "I've known Ren since he was ten and I can assure you he's perfectly fine and one hundred percent human."

"Are you sure you're not letting your feelings for Ren cloud your judgment?" Kenji asked.

Evie glared at him. "Absolutely positive."

"Then maybe the thing that's controlling him is…not-exactly-human?" Kai said thoughtfully.

Evie thought for a moment before letting a gasp escape her lips. "It's that blade!"

"You're telling me…that…Ren is being controlled by his blade?" Gou asked disbelievingly.

"Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" Kenji asked.

"His blade?" Kai asked.

"Uh huh," Evie said. "After we'd qualified to the finals, Ren appeared with a different blade altogether. And a different personality."

"That black one?" Gou asked.

Evie nodded. "He had the Jade Dragon, Hisui. But then he suddenly came with a weird and entirely different blade altogether."

"On a different note," Kenji said. "Ren seems to be able to control anyone who loses a battle against him."

"Yeah…." Gou agreed. "Which isn't exactly something anyone can do."

"Precisely," Kenji said.

"It's obviously because of the blade," Evie said.

"So if we get that blade away from him, does that mean he'll go back to normal?" Gou asked.

"If it were as easy as that, Emily would've already done it," Kai said.

"Right."

"Hey, Kogo," Kenji said, turning to the girl.

"What?" she asked.

"Did he come after you too?"

"Yeah, but that was about a year ago," Evie said.

"What if he's targeting the four Empresses?" Kenji asked in alarm.

"We've already discussed that!" Gou said. "We think he's targeting the four empresses. Where were you back then?"

"Anyway," Kenji said, changing the subject. "The people Ren beats seem to come back to their senses once someone else beats them."

He let out a small gasp, as though remembering or realizing something unpleasant.

"What?" Kai asked.

"Nothing," Kenji said. "Just wondering."

"Wondering what?" Gou persisted.

"Nothing!" Kenji snapped. "You get distracted way too easily!"

"Kogo," Gou said, turning to the girl when he figured Kenji wasn't going to tell him anything. "You said Ren came after you as well. Who beat you after that."

"It was Dad, obviously," Evie answered before her eyes narrowed. "What was that?"

They turned to see a huge tornado some distance behind them. It was coming from behind the hotel.

"That," Gou said with a smirk, "was Rin."

"Seriously?" Evie asked incredulously.

At that precise moment, the ground begun shaking.

"And that's Markus," Gou said matter-of-factly.

"Those kids are stronger than they look," Kai said disbelievingly.

"Let's go check it out," Evie said excitedly, and they ran towards the building.

"So far so good," Kouren said, checking her laptop. They were in the hotel's backyard, training.

"Yeah," Makoto said, punching the air. "With moves like that, you guys might just win!"

"Especially since we can't rely on you to help," Gou said sarcastically, appearing behind him.

"I HEARD THAT!" Makoto yelled. "And when did you get here anyway?"

"Alright, guys stop!" Kouren said as Rin's hurricane gained power and Markus's earthquake seemed ready knock them off the ground.

"No way," Rin said, grinning.

"Yeah," Markus added. "We've only just begun."

"Guys, save your energy for the finals. At this rate, you'll damage your blades before the match even begins!" Kouren exclaimed.

"Don't care!" Rin yelled.

Kouren turned helplessly. "Makoto!"

"On it," Makoto said, rummaging in his pocket. The next moment, he had his blade set on his launcher. "Let it rip!"

Dreslogia flew into the stadium in a flash of blue, and collided with the other two blades, throwing all of them out of the dish.

"MAKOTO!" Rin and Markus protested in unison.

"What?" Makoto asked innocently.

"Aren't you going to train?" Kenji asked Gou.

"I can't find a decent challenge," Gou said.

"Don't get started _here,_ " Kai said, counting two potential 'challenges' right there.

"I'll fight you, Gou!" Rin said cheerfully.

"Oh no," Kouren said instantly. "You'll damage your blades."

"How are we going to get stronger if we can't beyblade?" Markus asked.

"Follow my example and eat lots of healthy food," Makoto suggested, munching on a king size Mars bar.

Everyone in the immediate vicinity sweat-dropped.

"Chocolate is the exact opposite of healthy, Makoto," Evie said **(I'm munching on slice of chocolate cake as I type this ;p)**.

Makoto waved her off. "Girls are always picky about what they eat. Don't eat this, don't eat that, don't eat too much. It's like they all got private lessons on 'healthy eating' from my mom."

"You eat way too much, Makoto," Kouren said. "Someone needs to bring that massive diet of yours under control and I'm glad Aunt Hilary's there to do it."

Makoto opened his mouth to take another bite but ended up chomping thin air. He stared at his hands with disappointment before muttering, "It goes down way too quickly."

Markus laughed. "That's because you eat it too quickly, Makoto."

Kouren nodded. "Precisely."

"Well, if you ask me, kids need a healthy diet like chocolate and pizza and all that other completely healthy stuff they've started calling 'junk food'." Tyson said, putting his hands on his waist.

"And that's why no one asks you, Tyson," Kai said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, Gou," Rin said suddenly, grinning. "Wanna arm-wrestle?"

"What?" Gou asked incredulously. "You wanna arm-wrestle me?"

"Don't," Kenji advised seriously. "He's terrible at it. You're gonna waste your time."

Gou glared at him, before turning to Rin. "You're on."

Run clapped. "Yay."

"I'll be the referee," Evie said excitedly. "Rule number one: try not to rip each other's arm off. Rule number two: no broken bones. Rule number three: no cheating and rule number four: NO CRYING IF YOU LOSE!"

"Aren't they past the stage of 'crying if they lose'?" Kouren asked.

"Makoto goes running to Auntie Hilary every time he loses an arm-wrestle against me," Evie said, causing Makoto to turn beetroot.

"Th…that was a long time ago," Makoto stammered.

Evie waved him off, "Could've fooled me. Right, then. Let's start."

"Wait, are you guys serious?" Kouren asked.

"Well, duh!" Makoto said.

"What else does it look like?" Markus asked, as if it were obvious.

"No way! I won't allow it!" Kouren protested.

"Who's listening to you anyway? Makoto asked, grinning.

She turned to Rin. "Rin, think about it! He's gonna rip your arm off!"

Kenji laughed. "Might just be the other way around."

Gou glared at him. "You are seriously tempting me to knock your over-large head off."

"Save it for the dish," Kai said.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Evie announced suddenly, her winder acting as a makeshift microphone. "Welcome to the Bladecrushers' first ever arm-wrestle. To my left, we have Gou Hiwatari, and to my right, we have Rin Kon! Let's start."

 **~two minutes later~**

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, OWWWW!" Rin yelled, holding her arm, tears streaming out of her eyes **(the sort you get in chibi characters)**. "MY ARM!"

Gou closed his eyes and put his hands in his pockets. "That was child's play."

Rin looked at him with teary eyes. "You're cruel."

Kouren came beside her, looking smug. "I told you so."

"I won't be able to launch for a week," Rin muttered, making everyone yell, "WHAT?"

"Well, he almost core my arm off!"

"Uh…Rin. It's _tore."_ Markus corrected sheepishly.

"Nobody cares."

"We do!" Kouren practically yelled (Markus sweat-dropped). "You're supposed to be playing in the finals! How can you win if you can't even launch properly?"

Rin thought for a moment before smiling cheerfully. "I'll manage."

"You'd better!" Makoto said. "I wanna see that smirk wiped off Katsuragi's cocky face."

"Don't call him that!" Evie said. "Katsuragi is that no-good ***bleep*** sitting at Katsuragi Corporation and Ren is _nothing_ like him!"

Makoto gasped. "You just swore. I'm gonna tell Uncle Hiro!"

"It's true, though," Kai said, sliding his hands into his pockets. "Ren and Takato may seem similar at the surface, but they're poles apart deep down inside. Sure, they're both manipulative, powerful, and influential but their stories are very different. Takato's been a jerk from the beginning, but I'm not sure it's the same with Ren. In a way, it's like Takato's Chlorofluorocarbon and Ren's the ozone layer he's damaged perpetually."

 **x.x.x**

"You want him to do WHAT?"

"Feel the exact amount of pain your bit beast feels. It's only fair, Sebastian."

The sentence came from a certain scarlet haired teen who lounged lazily on a black leather chair, his chin resting on his palm, mouth curved into a smirk, wine-red eyes cold and sinister. Standing in front of him was rather disconcerted looking teenager with dark green, messy hair and green eyes.

"And the girl?" Sebastian asked, eyes narrowed as he prepared for the worse.

"She'll do it too, of course," Ren replied softly.

"She's just a child!" Sebastian protested.

"You can't judge people based on their age, Sebastian." Ren reminded, twirling a scarlet strand in his fingers.

"I highly doubt you realize the absurdity of your decision, Ren," Sebastian seethed.

"You're talking like Emily now," Ren sighed. Did he just show hints of…exasperation?

"At least Emily can see sense!"

"It was Erik's idea," Ren said. "I don't see why you're so bothered."

"That's precisely why I'm bothered! You and Erik plotting something together can only end in disaster."

"Broaden your vision, Sebastian. This will prove to benefit all of us in the long run."

"I think you and I might have very different ideas of what 'benefit' actually means, Ren," Sebastian said through gritted teeth.

"Let's call it a difference in opinions," Ren decided. "This is the first time Erik's suggested something useful. It'll be a good way to show that over-pampered brat that the world doesn't revolve around her."

Sebastian's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure we're talking about the same person here?"

We're talking about Rin Kon, right?" Ren asked.

"Yes, and over-pampered isn't the word I'd use to describe her," Sebastian said, his anger dissipating. Now, he just seemed curious. He often did, especially when Ren expressed his views on a person, as they often contradicted his own.

"Only if you see her for what she is on the outside," Ren said.

"You're talking as if you actually know her," Sebastian said.

"Well, I've had a brief encounter with her - if you can call it that - and, for me, one meeting is enough to figure her out."

"She was born and raised in the White Tiger clan and she's spent her entire life training in the wilderness."

"And travelling all over the world with her father," Ren added. "Your research is impressive as always, Sebastian, but inaccurate."

Sebastian clenched his fists. "Travelling over the world doesn't make her 'over-pampered'."

"Not at all, but there are other things," Ren answered vaguely.

"Like?"

"You'll have to find those out yourself."

"So, you're really using the gloves?" Sebastian asked.

Ren put his fingers together. "For the smartest guy on the team, you're being unbelievably thick today. Yes, he's using them."

"How can you be so sure they're sending that Rin girl second?"

"Like I just said, it takes me only one encounter to figure a person out, and I've met Gou more than once."

"I see," Sebastian said, though he obviously didn't. He knew he and Ren would never see eye to eye on anything, so it was best to surrender. When it came to mind games, Ren was a born winner.

"How did you find about my little plan anyway?" Ren asked, resting his chin on his fingers.

"I have my ways, and I was hoping to knock some sense into you," Sebastian said.

"Shouldn't you be worried about your own match?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, I've got it covered," he answered dismissively. "Emily's little boy shouldn't be that much of a problem."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Ren said softly as Sebastian headed for the door.

"Duly noted," Sebastian said walking out and closing the door behind him.

Ren turned his chair and looked through the glass wall behind him (or in front of him, now that he had turned) and smirked to see a few bladers training in the garden. They seemed to be more interested in mocking each other and 'having fun' in Tyson's language, than doing any actual beyblading.

Ren's mouth twisted into a smirk as he whispered softly, "Enjoy your happy days while they last. Soon, the world as you know it will be gone for good."

 **x.x.x**

 **Finally…done!**

 **Heck, that was hard. This chapter's really weird, I know, and probably not what you guys deserve after the extra-long break (I think it was 2 months), but I was going through…writer's block, I guess. Still haven't recovered completely.**

 **Turns out Kenji has a mischievous side ;p**

 **So Evie finally swears. I had to do a** _ ***bleep***_ **because:**

 **1) this is a kids' fanfic (even though there are hardly any kids around here)**

 **2) I couldn't muster up the courage to write a swear word. I use them but I couldn't write them.**

 **I wonder why Evie's so intent on defending Ren?**

 **Do you think Ren went a little off-character in the end. The idea was to show that Ren isn't always sinister and scary. Most of the time he's quite normal. In fact he's only frightening to those who fear him. I know the beginning's pretty lame, but I hope it clears up any confusion.**

 **Fun fact: Sebastian's real name was Momoru and he was supposed to be Japanese by origin, but then I thought, 'Shouldn't the Spanish representative be from Spain?' so I changed his name. Also, Erik's name was initially Markus and Markus's name was Erik but neither of them seemed to fit their personalities so I decided to do an exchange…and it worked!**

 _ **Special thanks to Rock the Road, MagicalPheonix12 , the-next-you-know-who and Blue lightning of the night for supporting me from the beginning. Also thanks to PhoenixPrincess (are you PheonixPrincess17?) for the reviews on the latest chapters. Unaisa memon reviewed chapter 13 so thanks a bunch!**_

 _ **Oh, and the girl in the cove image is a chibi version of Rin while the girl in my profile picture (I think that's what it's called) is Vivian Beauregard.**_

 **Two more chapters left before the fic ends, people! But guess what? I have a sequel! I'm so excited!**

 **See ya all next time…and don't forget to review,**

 **~Chun!**


	15. Max's Legacy

**HI guys! I'm back! Finally. Sorry about the long break. School's been keeping me super-busy, and my grades are dropping (alarmingly) so I'm TRYING to study. It's The Bladecrushers' birthday today so HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY DEAR, BELOVED STORY! I wrote this in a hurry so it's not what I'd hoped it to be but the best I could manage. Hope you like it. Oh, and if you remember Trinich, you've already met him more than once, and he makes a discreet appearance in this chapter. Can you spot him?**

 **x.x.x**

"Gou, you can't do this to me!"

Gou ignored his teammate as he walked out of the bus, his hands in his pockets.

"I wanna play too," Makoto begged, tears streaming down his cheeks **(once again, these are chibi tears)**

"This isn't a game, kid," Gou said.

"Seriously, Makoto, pull yourself together," Kouren said.

Makoto stared at her. "You don't understand! I'm the only one who's sitting out!"

"Which wouldn't have happened if you hadn't proved yourself to be so incredibly dumb," Gou reminded. "You lost to an _eight-year-old,_ for crying out loud!"

"That was ages ago and I'd only just gotten my bit-beast!" Makoto protested. "And Ma what's-his-name was stronger than he looked!"

"What about Luke, then?" Gou asked, turning around to face him.

"Well…Kenji was helping him." Makoto reasoned rather desperately.

"That's a terrible excuse."

"I won against Butterfly-Girl!" Makoto reminded.

"Barely," Gou said. "Besides, you lost two out of three matches. And you've been playing in _every_ tournament so far. It's hardly fair, kid."

"You've participated in every tournament as well!" Makoto protested.

"Except for the first one," Gou reminded, before adding pointedly. "And if _someone_ hadn't lost the opening match of the second round, I wouldn't have needed to fight Kenji either. Chances are he would've sent the blonde girl."

"But I won in the last round!" Makoto protested.

"And I would've kicked you out of the team if you hadn't because Tessa might be strong but anyone can beat her cronies."

Makoto rolled his eyes and pouted in submission, "Fine."

 **x.x.x**

"OH MY GOSH!" Hilary squealed. "I MISSED YOU ALL SO MUCH!"

"Uh oh," Makoto said, looking alarmed. "Guys, run!"

"Shut up, Makoto. Stop being rude," Kouren scolded, before smiling at Hilary. "It's good to see you again, Aunt Hilary."

The Bladecrushers had arrived early, and so had Tyson and Hilary…and of course, Hilary, being the mom she was, insisted that she would meet the kids _before_ the match. Tyson found he didn't have much of a say in it, so he let his wife do as she pleased.

"Auntie Hilary!" Rin exclaimed, as she gave the woman a bear hug.

"Rin," Hilary beamed. "I swear you're getting taller by the day."

Then, she turned to Gou, and before the crimson eyed teenager could react, she enveloped him in a motherly hug that nearly squeezed the stuffing out of him.

Makoto burst out laughing at Gou's expression as his mother continued to crush his ribs. Finally, Gou gasped,

"Can't...breathe…"

Hilary let him go. "Sorry, dear," she apologized before smiling. "It's just that…I missed you so much. Last time I saw you, you were eight."

Gou blushed slightly. "I remember."

And that was when he heard it. The unmistakable 'click' of a camera snapping a photo. Gou found Kouren and Makoto sporting large grins as they bent over Kouren's camera

"DELETE THAT IMMEDIEATELY!" Gou yelled.

Makoto stuck out his tongue. "I will…as soon as Kouren makes it public."

 **x.x.x**

 **"** WELCOME EVERYONE TO THE FINAL ROUND OF THE BEYBLADE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS!" Daichi yelled at the top of his voice, accompanied by the crowd's delighted cheers and an explosive display of fireworks.

The sun had just set and the sky was a mixture of purple, deep blue, and black. Golden lights surrounded the open stadium, with the EBA' s building towering over them.

"LET'S WELCOME THE TEAMS!" Daichi yelled. "Representing Japan, the team who made no secret of their incredible skills, please welcome THE BLADECRUSHERS!"

The crowd cheered and applauded as the team stepped into the almost blinding yellow light and under the starry sky.

"Their opponents, representing Europe, the defending champions, give it up for the EBA SHOOTING STARS!"

They were greeted by an even greater applause. The team had three members, the guy with messy dark green hair, and eyes of the same color, Sebastian Cuartero, the one with spiky maroon hair, purple slit-like pupils and two fang-like canines, Erik Steiner, and in front of them, a beautiful girl in a distinctive royal blue ball gown, with thick wavy azure blue hair that tumbled to her waist and midnight blue eyes that gave off an eerie glow, called Vivian Beauregard.

"And now," Daichi said. "Let's begin the first round. It looks like the Bladecrushers are sending Markus Tate first."

"You'd better not lose," Makoto said.

"Yeah, break a leg, Markie!" Rin said.

Markus sweat-dropped. "Y..yeah sure."

"The first player from the EBA Shooting Stars is Sebastian Cuartero!"

"They always send him first," Kouren said. "He's pretty strong, judging from the data I was able to collect in his last battle, but I'm sure all that extra training will pay off."

She was being optimistic, that much was clear.

"Unless they pull some kind of dirty trick," Makoto put in.

"So far, there have been no accounts of any kind of cheating from their side," Gou said, folding his arms. "That said, they do sometimes challenge their opponents to certain conditions, though whether the opponent accepts or not is entirely up to them."

"Seems fair," Markus said. "I think I'll be fine. After all, I've been waiting for this."

He glanced at the other side, where Emily and Sebastian seemed to be having a last minute discussion. Markus watched as Sebastian sighed and looked at the EBA HQ. It struck Markus that Ren was probably inside, watching the whole thing.

Markus scanned the crowd: there was Tyson, of course, and his wife Hilary, and Max (surprisingly, because he was always managing the BBA in Tyson's absence, but he doubted Max would give up watching the finals, especially if his own son was participating), and there was Kenny, and Ray and Mariah. Kai hadn't shown up yet but Markus had a feeling it wouldn't be long before the businessman appeared. He also saw Kenji and his team as well as the Demolition Girls. There were two more girls with them **(Susan and Carla, Tessa's 'sidekicks' as Kenji calls them, but Markus obviously doesn't know them )**. Somewhere nearby, there was a guy with fiery red hair and violet eyes. Markus recognized him instantly as Tala Ivanov. There were three more people with him. A big, muscular blonde guy, who Markus had heard was called Spencer, a guy with lavender hair called Bryan, and a guy with indigo hair and a large nose called Ian. They were all former legends, members of a team called the Demolition Boys.

The last person to catch his eye was probably the only one he couldn't name. The guy was about fifteen years of age and around the same height as Evie, maybe an inch taller, with startling green eyes and flaming red hair set in spikes, two strands hanging lose from a widow's peak. He was wearing a high-collared dark red trench coat with black trimmings that was open from the front and ended below his knees with black jeans.

They made their way toward the centre of the stadium and Markus wondered where the dish was.

His question was answered almost immediately by Daichi's announcement. "LET'S BRING OUT THE DISH!"

The stadium floor opened up, and a dish rose out into the open.

"Today's first beybattle will be held in the Bamboo Forest!"

"Fitting name," Makoto muttered.

He was right, because standing within the dish were an alarming number of bamboo sticks. Markus gritted his teeth. These bamboos would make it harder for him to attack. They were everywhere. He looked up at his opponent, and saw Sebastian mirroring his look. He looked around to find both teams looking equally surprised. Emily was the only one with a straight face.

'Of course this was her doing,' he thought bitterly. 'She's a little too loyal to him.'

"Are the players ready?" Daichi asked, pulling Markus out of his trance.

"R..right," Markus stammered, hastily fitting his blade into his launcher. Sebastian did the same.

"Right, three, two, one…" Daichi said.

"Let it rip!"

They launched their blades, with Sebastian's blade swiftly dodging the bamboos and Markus knocking them out as he went.

"Atrix, attack!" Sebastian ordered.

The blade dodged its way through a dense group of bamboo trees and headed straight for Markus, pushing it back when the two blades clashed.

"Alright then," Markus said. "Drecale, attack!"

This was much easier for Markus because he didn't have to deal with the bamboos, having Sebastian's blade right next to his. Drecale sent a powerful attack at Atrix, pushing him back towards the edge of the dish, bamboo sticks flying everywhere.

"His blade is attack-based," Emily observed. "Which means he's probably planning to stand his ground and fight head-on, which should give Sebastian plenty of ways to turn the tables."

"He's only attacked once, Mrs. T," Erik said. "You sure you're not jumping to conclusions?"

"Positive," Emily said, pushing up her glasses. "He is my son, after all."

Erik rolled his eyes. "Please don't enter mommy-mode right now."

"Drecale, tear it to shreds!" Markus ordered.

The blade headed for Atrix, who dodged the strike. It took Markus three tries to actually land a hit, but when he did, it was powerful, one that sent Atrix flying.

"I've had just about enough if this," Sebastian said, as his blade climbed one of the bamboos.

"No way," Markus muttered. "How is he doing that?"

Drecale went straight for the bamboo stick Atrix was balancing itself on, and knocked it out with one attack. This, however, was not enough to bring Atrix to the ground, who jumped onto the next bamboo stick.

"Seriously?" Markus asked himself.

He ordered Drecale to break the next stick as well, only to see Atrix jumping on the one beside it.

"He's just dodging Markie's attacks," Makoto protested angrily. "When's he gonna man up and attack?"

"Markie's blade is heavier than your normal blade, which gives it much more raw power," Kouren said. "Sebastian Cuartero's blade is much lighter in comparison, so it's easier for him to simply avoid Markie's attacks, because he seems to be taking much more damage. That said, if this turns into a stamina test, Drecale will find itself at a disadvantage."

"Drecale, try that one more time," Markus yelled.

Sebastian rolled his eyes, "Keep attacking like that, kid, and we'll be here all night."

Gou gasped as memories from his fight with Ren rushed back.

 _"Keep attacking like that, Gou, and we'll be here all night."_

Gou made a silent note to observe the guy more closely.

His attention was diverted from his thoughts when he saw what Markus was doing. He was breaking one bamboo stick after another, and it seemed to be for nothing, because the bamboo Atrix was sitting on wasn't even close to it.

"What is he doing?" Makoto asked, squinting to see if his eyes weren't deceiving him.

"He's depositing nature!" Rin exclaimed. "Someone stop him!"

"If by 'depositing' you meant 'destroying', then I think you'd like to know that those sticks are artificial," Kouren told her.

"Is he actually lashing out because he's frustrated?" Gou asked disbelievingly.

"Markus doesn't get frustrated, and even if he does he _never_ 'lashes out'," Makoto said. "He's probably planning something."

"I hope so," Gou said.

"Just what are you doing?" Sebastian asked. "It's useless, can't you see?"

Markus smirked.

"He's definitely got a plan," Makoto said.

Markus smashed one bamboo stick after another, until the only ones left standing were the ones at the edge of the dish.

"You've got no place to run!"Markus declared triumphantly. "Alright, Drecale, attack!"

"No way," Sebastian muttered. "He was planning that all along?"

"Smart kid," Erik said, before laughing. "Man, Ren's gonna kill Sebastian if he loses to something like that."

"He won't get the chance," Emily said."This battle isn't over just yet. Besides, you're the only one he plans on killing."

Drecale headed for the bamboo stick, breaking it into half in one sweep. Atrix fell to the ground and Drecale unleashed a series of attacks as soon as the other blade touched the ground.

"Atrix, rise!" Sebastian yelled.

A massive, hairy black creature rose out of the blade.

Drecale stopped attacking and moved back as Markus surprised everyone with a scream of, "IT'S A GIANT SPIDER!"

Emily face palmed.

"Are you kidding me?" Gou asked, an anime vein popping on his head.

Kouren and Makoto sweat-dropped.

"He's…a little scared of spiders," Kouren explained sheepishly.

"A _little_?" Gou asked sarcastically.

Rin looked confused. "But…spiders are cute."

"Aren't girls supposed to go squealing to their daddies at the very sight of spiders?" Makoto asked.

"Markus is afraid of spiders…" Gou muttered, still unable to digest that. "And you guys only see fit to tell me when he's in the dish facing one!"

"Well, how were we supposed to know that green guy's bit-beast was a spider?" Makoto shot back.

"Attack!" Sebastian said.

"AAHHHH! A SPIDER'S ATTACKING ME! HELP ME!" Markus shrieked.

"Uh…kid..you sure you're okay down there?" Daichi asked uncertainly.

"Markie, calm down," Makoto said. "Deep breaths…that's it, _deep breaths."_

Markus inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. He repeated the process a couple of times before concluding, "Much better."

"You're…actually afraid of spiders?" Sebastian asked disbelievingly.

"It's not fair," Markus mumbled, pouting **(chibi pouting, you know, when they go all cute and chubby and their lips become heart-shaped)**.

The audience cooed at his cuteness.

Just then, Gou felt a strange feeling taking over him. A series of pictures flashed before his eyes.

 _He saw two blades, one green and one grey, zooming towards each other at incredible speed. Just as they were about to hit the green blade moved slightly toward the left._

His vision ended there, leaving him with a agonizing headache.

Meanwhile, on the battle field, Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Right then, Atrix, paralyze him."

Atrix landed two sharp hits, one on each side at a particular point. Drecale wobbled slightly.

"What was that?" Makoto asked.

Rin gasped. "He's trying to block Drecale's _Qi_!"

"His what?" Kouren asked in bewilderment.

"Qi," Gou said. "In Chinese philosophy, it's the life force that runs in all living things."

Rin nodded.

"Well, that's one way to put it," Kouren said thoughtfully. "But what really happened is that Sebastian's light blade can make extra precise attacks. This one breaks the gears inside Markus's blade which keep it spinning. A few more hits from that and Drecale stops spinning."

"So…does that mean Greenie over there's got a better chance of winning?" Makoto asked shakily.

"Well, their blades are polar opposites," Kouren said. "You can't guess the outcome until the end."

Markus seemed to have guessed that he was in trouble, because he called, "Drecale, Rock Wall!"

The pieces of broken bamboo and shredded dish literally formed a wall in front of Drecale. Atrix didn't try to attack. Rather, he avoided the little wall altogether, and moved toward its left. Unfortunately, Markus's wall only shielded the front, leaving Drecale's sides and back completely unguarded. Taking advantage of this, Atrix launched an attack before Markus could call another move, giving Drecale two more sharp hits.

"Drecale, Attack!" Markus ordered.

"Atrix, camouflage," Sebastian commanded.

The blade zoomed toward the pile of broken bamboo sticks, hiding behind it, it's green color allowing the blade to blend in perfectly.

"Well, if you're going to hide, then I'll just have to throw you out," Markus said before declaring, "Drecale, Earth Shaker!"

The entire dish shook, causing the bamboo sticks to scatter. Atrix itself was moved off course.

"There it is!" Markus exclaimed. "Attack it now, Drecale!"

The beyblade zoomed toward its opponent.

"Atrix, now," Sebastian commanded.

His blade headed for Drecale at an even faster rate. Just as the two blades were about to collide, Atrix moved swiftly to the left. He obviously hadn't meant to dodge the attack because Atrix hit Drecale's side. A piece of metal fell from Atrix's right, and Drecale wobbled dangerously as it began to slow down. Atrix, on the other hand, had charged with such speed that it showed no signs of stopping any time soon.

Atrix zoomed straight over the edge of the dish and landed at Sebastian's feet.

It took Daichi some time to process what had happened.

"A..Atrix, stadium out! Winner: Markus Tate!"

Daichi's words seemed to awaken the crowd. The audience erupted into applause, as Makoto and Rin cheered.

"I…won?" Markus asked himself.

"Don't celebrate just yet," Sebastian said. "I always leave a parting gift."

He bent down to pick his blade from his feet, and as he did so, Markus saw a something slip down his hand. A thin, silver bracelet.

Markus called his own blade back, and not a moment too soon, because just as Drecale reached its owner hands, it broke into a dozen small pieces.

"You were great, Markie," Makoto said, grinning, as he came up behind the blonde beyblader.

"What's wrong?" Kouren asked. The rest of the team was behind her.

Markus showed her his blade.

"Oh no!" Kouren said. "I had a feeling this would happen."

Markus found himself at a loss of words. This was Sebastian's parting gift. Sebastian might have lost the match, but it was Markus who had taken the most damage.

"Kouren, can you fix it?" Rin asked.

"I'll need Dad's help, but I'm sure it'll be good as new," Kouren said, forcing a smile.

Markus couldn't help but smile at his friends.

"You did great, kid," Gou said. "Emily's proud of you."

Markus looked towards his mother and saw that even though she wasn't looking at him, there was small smile on her face.

 **x.x.x**

"Alright, people, let's begin the second match of the day!" Daichi yelled. "Brace yourself for one mind blowing display of raw-power, folks, because the participants of this match are none other than Rin Kon and Erik Steiner!"

"Rin, you have to win this one," Makoto said. "So that Gou doesn't get to play."

"Seriously?" Gou asked, incredulous.

"Well, you're not letting me play, so this is pay back."

Markus laughed, before wishing her good luck.

She made her way to the dish, which turned out to be a normal one.

Erik walked towards the dish as well, his hands in his pockets, head cocked back.

"I have a challenge, little girl," Erik said.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Erik Steiner has mentioned some kind of challenge!" Daichi announced. "Will Rin Kon accept?"

Rin blinked. "What is it?"

He produced two silver bracelets from his pocket. "You wear one of these. I'll wear one too."

Markus gasped. "Sebastian was wearing one just like that."

Gou narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"What does it do?" Rin asked.

At that, Erik smirked menacingly, "Oh, you'll see."

Rin shrugged. "Okay."

Erik threw her one of the bracelets.

Kouren face-palmed. "Is she crazy?"

"Yeah," Makoto said. "It's obviously some kind of trick. He won't even tell what that thing does."

Rin, on the other hand, was examining the item, turning it around in her hands.

"I want that one," she decided, pointing at Erik's hand.

Erik's smirk broadened. "Oh, you think I've tricked it somehow?"

"Just to be safe," Rin said.

Erik shrugged. "Fair enough."

With that, he threw her his bracelet, and she threw him hers. They put them on.

 **x.x.x**

"Sebastian, where are you going?" Emily asked as she noticed him slipping into the EBA building.

"I need some 'alone-time'," Sebastian answered.

"Oh," Emily understood. "Very well, then."

Sebastian staggered through the door, before slumping against the wall on his right as he collapsed onto the cold floor, breathing hard. He raised his wrist and looked at the silver bracelet that rested on it.

"Curse Ren and his torture devices," he mumbled, before gasping in agony.

 **x.x.x**

"Three," Daichi yelled.

The crowd followed quickly. "Two!"

"One," Makoto, Markus, Kouren yelled.

Rin and Erik smirk as they met each other's eyes and cried out in unison, "Let it rip!"

 **x.x.x**

 **Phew…this chapter was HARD! Markus's fight took longer than I thought. I was planning on showing Rin's fight as well, but it's probably gonna be even longer than Markus's so let's leave it to the next chappie…which won't be anytime soon, unfortunately. I've got exams to prepare for.**

 **Anyway, this chapter is named Max's legacy because Max's mom is rooting for the opposition in the original series, and so is Emily. And they both win despite the odds. For the record, Sebastian is pretty strong.**

 **So, did you spot Trinich?**

 **SO, who's your favorite character from the story so far?**

 **HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STORY-CHAN! (that sounds stupid)**

 **See ya all later,**

 **~Chun**


	16. Facade

**Hi there, everyone! I'm back with chapter 16 of The Bladecrushers! Chapter** _ **16**_ **…can you guys believe it? Honestly, I can't. Sorry about the wait, though. I hit a major writer's block and then got this sudden burst of creativity about three days ago. Anyway, here's the chapter. Hope you guys like it.**

 **Here's something you should know. Gou tends to bite his lower lip when he's struggling to hide his emotions. Whenever he's upset, or in pain or something like that.**

 **I'd like to mention that the name Trinich doesn't really exist, or if it does, I've never heard of it. I'd asked my brother to give me a cool, unique name, and he ended up mixing a bunch of names into Trinich. So, yeah. It doesn't really have any proper meaning and is completely mine (I'm possessive that way). It also kinda stuck to his character….which will probably be revealed in the next chapter.**

 **Oh, and another thing, the first scene, including the flashback and all, takes place before the Bladecrushers left for Europe.**

 **Wait, wait, wait. One last thing. This chapter contains mild swearing, nothing too bad, really, but yeah. Just thought I'd mention that.**

"SAY WHAT?"

Tyson couldn't help but smile at his brother's reaction, even if the topic of their discussion wasn't exactly a pleasant one. After all, it was rare to see Hiro Granger lose his cool.

"Hold on," Hiro said. "You're telling me that _Ren_ is trying to take over the world?"

Tyson rolled his eyes. "Yes, _Ren_."

"Are you sure we're talking about the same person here?" Hiro asked skeptically.

"Yes, Hiro," Tyson said exasperatedly. "We're talking about Ren Katsuragi, sixteen-year-old kid with an ego bigger than his father's mansion, has long red hair, red eyes, chairman of the EBA, likes to give me a headache on a daily basis."

"That sounds nothing like Ren," Hiro said. "Except the hair and the eyes."

"Honestly, I thought Evie was blinded by teenage emotions, but this is ridiculous coming from you," Tyson said incredulously.

"Come on!" Hiro said. "He can't be the only red-haired, red-eyed kid."

"No, but he stands out. Ren always stands out. You know that," Tyson reasoned.

"Yes, but Ren doesn't give people headaches, Tyson. And he can't possibly have an ego bigger than Takato Katsuragi's mansion. I mean, that place is huge and Ren's very…humble!"

"Humble my foot! He's changed, Hiro," Tyson said, crossing his arms. "Kids change the most during their teenage years. You of all people should know that. You've seen Evie change."

"Maybe, but he can't have gone through a complete personality transplant in the span of two years," Hiro protested, looking away.

"Hiro," Tyson said gently, because the man looked genuinely disturbed. "He's been through a lot. I mean, how would you feel if dad suddenly told you that you weren't good enough to be his son so he was gonna disown you?"

Hiro sighed. "I get where you're coming from but…"

"But?"

"Thing is, Ren hates attention. He's always hated attention. He hated his last name, so why would he showcase it like that now? He didn't like to show off. He never told anyone about his father, avoided using his last name if he could. He kept his head low, his books close to his chest, as though they were his only comfort. He was clever, more than he would have liked, and surprisingly observant for a child so young. He hated violence, and couldn't stand the sight of blood, which was ironic because he was always getting beat up. He said strange things for a kid, like describing the color black as 'alluring'. He loved nature. He constantly reminded me of…"

He stopped suddenly, eyes wide, as though he had just come to a conclusion. He ran a hand through his blue-grey hair as he sighed before swearing.

"I can't believe I made the same mistake twice!"

"H…Hiro…calm down," Tyson said uneasily.

Hiro let out a strained smile. "I'm fine."

"Now," Tyson said, making sure he'd calmed down from that sudden outbreak. "What mistake were you talking about?"

"He was just like Brooklyn. I led Brooklyn to destruction. He ruined himself, disappeared off the face of the planet. And now…I failed to realize that Ren was headed toward the same path."

And before he knew it, memories started rushing back.

 **Flashback**

 _"Dad, this is my new friend Ren," a ten-year-old Evie said proudly, gesturing to a small redheaded child who had sought refuge behind her back._

 _The child looked away and mumbled an almost inaudible, "It's very nice to meet you, Granger-san."_

 _It took Hiro every ounce of willpower he had to keep himself from exclaiming something along the lines of: 'YOU'RE A BOY?!' because the truth was, Hiro had though the child was a girl. His chin-length scarlet hair was misleading to say the least, his pale skin, long-lashed wine-red eyes and delicate - almost fragile - face made him look_ pretty, _almost girlish._

 _Nonetheless, Hiro collected himself before the kids realized something was wrong. He smiled warmly at his young guest, "It's nice to meet you too, Ren. Come on in."_

 _He sat with the kids for a while, long enough to find out that Evie had met the kid at Kenny's beyblade shop, and she'd taught him how to play the sport._

 _"Can you believe it, Dad?" Evie laughed. "Ren hadn't even heard of Beyblade!"_

 _"I'd seen some posters," Ren mumbled in defense. "They didn't make it look very exciting."_

 _Over the course of the conversation, Hiro noticed that Ren was an inch shorter that Evie. That led to him asking the boy how old he was._

 _"I'm ten. Nearly eleven, actually," the boy answered somewhat shyly._

 _Hiro would have had an easier time believing the kid if he'd said he was almost nine._

 _"He doesn't look like it, does he?" Evie asked._

 _"He acts like it, unlike a certain someone," Hiro said pointedly._

 _"Very funny," Evie pouted, causing the two males to laugh softly._

 _Before he knew it, Ren had become a common sight at the Grangers' apartment._

 _ **x.x.x**_

 _"Hey, Dad," Evie said one day, leaning on the balcony. Ren was standing next to her, leaning against the wall with his face buried in a rather thick book._

 _"Yeah?" Hiro asked from his easy position at the couch._

 _"Tell Ren it's totally fine to sit on the railing. I want to sit and he won't give me a boost!" Evie whined._

 _"I have multiple reasons for declining your request," Ren said, not looking away from his book._

 _"Like what?" Evie asked, challengingly._

 _"Well, to begin with, sitting on the railing is extremely dangerous," Ren said. "I mean, think about it. What if you lost your balance? You'd go tumbling fifty feet down and break your neck. Secondly, you're alarmingly heavy, so I can't lift you up even if I wanted to."_

 _"I'm not heavy!" Evie protested indignantly. "You're just way too light. And boring."_

 _"If you do end up on the railing, you'll beg me to join you," Ren continued._

 _"Duh!"_

 _"I'm afraid I can't do that."_

 _"Why not? There's a great view!"_

 _"It's just buildings, buildings, buildings as far as the eye can see," Ren said as though the words left a bitter taste in his mouth._

 _"It's better than staring at a bunch of la-di-da words," Evie defended._

 _"I'd rather be staring at la-di-da words than be given another reminder of how stupidly inconsiderate most of us are."_

 _Evie blinked. "What do you mean?"_

 _"Pollution, reckless destruction of nature," Ren answered bitterly._

 _"But…there's no factory in sight," Evie said, looking confused._

 _"Factories aren't the only cause of pollution, you know. Besides, do you see a single tree in sight?"_

 _"Well…no."_

 _At this point, Hiro decided to intervene._

 _"Alright, who wants to play chess?"_

 _The two preteens turned to face him with baffled expression._

 _Evie was the first to recover. "Chess?"_

 _"That's a great idea, Hiro-san," Ren said._

 _"Wait, wait, wait," Evie interrupted. "I can't play chess. It's boring, and I keep forgetting the rules!"_

 _Ren stared at his female companion in bewilderment and… awe? He tended to do that sometimes, as though she was an entirely different species._

 _"You…don't know how to play chess?" he asked in disbelief._

 _Evie raised her chin defiantly. "So what?"_

 _Hiro laughed lightly. "Well, Ren, I'm guessing you know the rules?"_

 _Ren turned to him again and blinked, still looking somewhat surprised. "Yes, I believe I do."_

 _"Well, then, why don't you and I play, and Evie can…"_

 _"Play with the extra horses!" Evie said quickly. "I'll get the stuff."_

 _With that, she was off, making strange horse noises along the way._

 _"Play with the extra horses?" Ren asked, with the expression of someone who was unable to digest that._

 _Hiro let out a chuckle before explaining. "Well, you see, we have way too many pieces. Some are pretty old. So, Evie plays horses with the old ones."_

 _Ren stared at him, mouth slightly opened. "Oh."_

 _They sat down in the living room, with Ren and Hiro on armchairs across each other, with the board on the coffee table and Evie and her horses on the couch._

 _"I'm rooting for Ren," Evie said as she made one of the faded brown horses fly through the air_ _ **(those horses used to be black once)**_ _. "Just, watch out. Dad's ace."_

 _Ren studied Hiro for a moment before his face broke into a smile. "Well, the harder the better."_

 _"What? Are you perfect at chess too?" Evie asked skeptically._

 _"It's a genetic thing," Ren answered with some thought._

 _ **x.x.x**_

 _"You know, Ren, you're pretty good at this," Hiro said._

 _Ren smiled softly. That smile held way too many emotions for a ten-year-old._

 _Hiro wondered exactly what this fragile looking child was hiding within him. But that was his mistake. He simply wondered, never spoke up._

 _"Hiro-san, can I ask something?" Ren's soft voice spoke._

 _Hiro looked up with a smile. "Ask away."_

 _"Well…I was wondering…why do you have a game of chess if you're the only person who knows how to play?"_

 _Hiro was taken aback by this question._

 _"Well…" he began, somewhat hesitantly. "You see…sometimes I play it with my grandfather."_

 _Ren's eyes lit up. "You're grandfather? Really?"_

 _Hiro smiled. "Yes. And Hilary, my sister-in-law."_

 _"So…you have a brother?"_

 _"Uh huh."_

 _"Wow," Ren said softly, making his move._

 _"Whoa…you really are good," Hiro said, looking impressed. "Who taught you to play like that?"_

 _Ren smiled again, a soft restrained smile. That smile spoke volumes. "My mother."_

 _Hiro stared at Evie, who had fallen asleep with a horse clutched in each hand._

 _"Then she must be pretty good herself," Hiro said._

 _"Yes. Actually, she told me that my father is just as good. He never plays with me though."_

 _Hiro narrowed his eyes. "Why not?"_

 _"Oh…he's…busy. And…we're not exactly…close," Ren answered carefully._

 _"I see," Hiro said, though he really didn't. What kind of father couldn't make time for his own kid?_ **(Hiro, I think you might need to get out more often)** _. "So, you play with your mother?"_

 _At this, Ren smiled bitterly. "My parents divorced a year ago. My mother lives in the UK."_

 _"Oh…"_

 _"Is it that easy?" Ren asked him bitterly._

 _"What exactly?"_

 _"Divorcing?"_

 _"Uh…well," Hiro began uncertainly. Just how do even start explaining an adult's problems to a child?_

 _"It's okay," Ren said heavily. "You don't have to answer. Your eyes just spoke for you."_

 _"My…eyes?" Hiro stammered. Then it hit him. "Hold on. How did you know I was divorced?"_

 _"Why else would you move to Japan by yourself with a 10-year-old daughter unaccustomed to Japanese ways? She can barely speak the language. She also keeps bringing up her mother. Unintentionally, of course. Then she realizes what she's saying and stops suddenly. You're lucky she isn't mature enough to start blaming people."_

 _Hiro let out an involuntary gasp at the blatant yet indirect accusation._

 _Ren realized what he'd just said. "I…I'm sorry. You obviously had your reasons…I shouldn't have…I'm sorry."_

 _"It's…okay," Hiro managed. As an afterthought, he added, "Do you really think she's going to blame me."_

 _Ren thought for a moment before answering carefully. "Well…not yet. If she keeps going like this you shouldn't have any problems, but she's only ten years old right now. She'll change as she grows up, everyone does."_

 _Hiro didn't know what surprised him more: Ren's observation, or the fact that he was receiving parenting advice from a ten-year-old._

 _"Ren," he said slowly. "These deductions…did you make them based on yourself?"_

 _"N…no. Of course not!" he said, before looking down at the game and sighing. "Every person is unique and grows up under different circumstances which shape their lives. Evie and I are poles apart. To begin with, my father is nothing like you. He's arrogant, proud, quick to judge, and a bit of a sadist. He also has a tendency to bite of more than he can chew-" Ren smiled at that and looked at Hiro with an amused expression. "Guess who he just picked a fight with?"_

 _Although Hiro was starting to get a pretty good idea of who this kid's dad was, he still wasn't quite sure. So he shrugged and shook his head._

 _Ren smiled, still looking amused. "Kai Hiwatari."_

 _"Wait - Kai?" Hiro exclaimed, joining the pieces together. Those manners, that soft way in which he spoke, the delicate face, the British mother, not to mention that crazy resemblance. "You're Takato Katsuragi's son?!"_

 _Ren gasped and moved back a little. "H…how did you…"_

 _"Ren, calm down," Hiro said gently, because Ren was visibly freaking out. "That's it. Deep breaths. Calm down."_

 _Ren closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Then he looked at him doubtfully. "You know my father?"_

 _"Well, not personally," Hiro said carefully. "I know Kai. He's a friend of my brother's."_

 _"Your…brother?"_

 _"Tyson Granger. Maybe you've heard of him?"_

 _He had heard of him. Tyson Granger was the man Ren's father was always cursing, saying he was a 'bad influence to children all over the world' and that he was 'filling their heads with false fantasies and making them lose sight of what really mattered'._

 _"He's…he comes on T.V sometimes, right?"_

 _"Uh…yeah," Hiro said. "He's the chairman of the BBA so, yeah, he comes on T.V whenever he's announcing a new tournament or something," Hiro explained._

 _"What's the BBA?"_

 _Hiro stared at him. This kid was basically a walking encyclopedia and yet he didn't know the one thing every kid his age knew?_

 _"It stands for Beyblade Battle Association. It's an organization that…organizes major beyblade tournaments around the world."_

 _"Around the world?" Ren asked. "Do all those people really have such an interest in beyblading?"_

 _"Yes, actually. They do. Beyblade is currently one of the most popular sports in the entire world," Hiro explained._

 _"Do you beyblade, Hiro-san?"_

 _"Well, I used to," Hiro said sheepishly. "Back in my teens."_

" _Oh. So…what did you do after that?"_

" _I was a coach," he answered. "I still am, actually."_

" _That explains how Evie's so good. It's…a different kind of good."_

 _By this point Hiro had concluded that this kid was dangerously observant._

" _You've only just started playing, right?" Hiro asked._

 _Ren nodded. "Yes, it's been two weeks. Evie seems to think I'm doing well, and so does the Chief, but my performance seems like everyone else's. Maybe they're encouraging me because I'm new…or maybe it's because I beat Evie…"_

" _You beat Evie?" Hiro asked, because if what he'd heard was true, then this kid probably had some serious potential._

 _But Ren's answer was not what he'd expected._

" _Yes, I did beat Evie. Eighteen times in the past two weeks, actually."_

" _What?!" Hiro exclaimed. "And you've been playing for…"_

" _Two weeks," Ren answered promptly, looking confused._

" _It was Evie who taught you how to play, right?"_

" _Uh…yes, I believe so."_

" _Did she…give you a demonstration?"_

" _Yes," Ren answered, starting to feel slightly uncomfortable from all those questions. "She battled me."_

" _And…who won?"_

" _Me," Ren said, as though it was obvious._

" _Do you have a bit beast?"_

 _Ren blinked. "What's a bit beast?"_

" _I'll take that as 'no'," Hiro concluded, before smiling. "You know, Ren, you're full of surprises."_

 _Ren only smiled softly._

 **x.x.x**

"Let it rip!"

"Attack," Erik hissed, as soon as the blade touched the stadium floor.

Before Rin could react, the blade charged straight for Drion and pushed it back with attack. Rin felt a tingling sensation in her right arm and looked to see blood making its way down to her wrist from a deep cut just above her elbow.

She stared at Erik with a grin, head tilted slightly. "That tickled."

Erik stared at her in shock. "What the…"

Rin's grin broadened. "Right then, Drion. ATTACK!"

The blade charged towards Erik's maroon colored blade and Erik found himself with several bruises as soon as the blades made contact.

"I get it!" Kouren exclaimed. "Those bracelets give the blader the exact amount of damage as the bit beast. I'm not sure how it works, but it's one of the EBA's signature inventions, though they seem to keep it away from public."

"Is that fair?" Markus asked.

"Since its equal on both sides, and Rin agreed to it herself, I'd say that it is," Gou said, crossing his arms.

Over by the dish, Erik didn't seem to be particularly affected by Rin's attacks either. In fact, he seemed rather pleased.

"My turn, then," Erik hissed, smiling maniacally. "Hit her hard!"

 **x.x.x**

Sebastian sat on the cold marble floor of the EBA, wincing in pain. He stared at the thin silver bracelet on his wrist and wondered why it hadn't worked like it usually did. Just as he was about to relax slightly, he heard a soft voice that made him freeze.

"My, my. I wasn't expecting to see the EBA's resident pretty boy collapsed on the ground like this," Ren said, red eyes glinting with cruel amusement.

Sebastian glared at him. "You altered it."

"How does it feel?" Ren asked, staring out of the glass window just above Sebastian. "You know, to lose to a complete amateur?"

"Including additional accessories?" Sebastian asked.

"I don't see how the accessory has anything to do with your pride."

Sebastian looked away and mumbled. "You still didn't explain why you altered the wretched bracelet."

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting _you_ to lose," Ren said softly. He was staring straight ahead, and there was no sadism or amusement in his voice. Just disappointment.

Sebastian stared at the ground and hugged his knees a little tighter. He felt something he hadn't quite experienced before: humiliation.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

"That wasn't an apology." Ren stated flatly.

"Well…I meant it as an apology…"

"But you meant it for yourself," Ren cut him off. "Self-pity isn't going to get you anywhere."

"R…right," he stammered, taking a deep breath. Then it struck him. "Hey, Ren…do you…miss your old life?"

Did Ren just…sigh? Yep, he definitely sighed. And let out a small, sad smile. "What would you know about my old life?"

"Not much, really," Sebastian admitted. "But, you lived in Japan, and teamed up thrice with Evangeline Granger, and you were defeated only once by the Russian blader…"

"Trinich," Ren finished. "Who is currently in this stadium, ridiculing your loss."

"He's here? Why haven't the people spotted him yet?" Sebastian asked, finally standing up. And just like that, Ren had changed the subject, without Sebastian realizing it.

"Because," Ren began, fixing an amused gaze on Rin, who let out a scream, "Erik is keeping them distracted."

 **x.x.x**

"Drion, dodge it!" Rin yelled as Erik charged again. She was breathing heavily, and her body was sporting several bruises and cuts.

"Tired already?" Erik asked, tilting his head, eyes glinting. "But I was just warming up."

Gou's eyes widened as Erik unleashed a very familiar attack.

"Attack," he hissed. His blade charged at Drion with incredible speed and began hitting it from all sides.

FLASHBACK **(from chapter 11, The Emperor Falls)** :

 _Gou screamed even more as Ren's blade attacked Drigelle from all sides at unbelievable speed, leaving Gou oozing blood all over._

END OF FLASHBACK

Rin let out a hair-raising scream.

Erik smirked cruelly, "Not so brave now eh, princess?"

"Stop that!" Rin yelled. "You're hurting Drion!"

"Stop that," Erik mimicked in a fake high pitched voice. "What? Is this your first time getting hurt?"

Rin held her left arm, which was now covered in bruises and looked more than a little painful. She was visibly out of breath.

"Judging by the way you look, I'd say you're not used to this kind of thing," Erik said. He smirked, revealing his fang like canines, "Damn it, Ren was right. You really are nothing more than a pampered brat."

And just like that, memories began rushing back.

FLASHBACK **(Erik's memories):**

" _It's the middle of winter. Aren't you cold?"_

 _Erik looked up at the owner of the soft, yet chilling voice, and found himself staring at…a kid? He looked barely fourteen, with pale skin, long scarlet hair that ended just a little above his shoulders, and wine red eyes. His attire consisted of a warm black shirt under a red jacket, black pants and red gloves._

" _Wh…who are you? Screw that, what do you want from me?" Erik asked, hugging his knees tighter as he shivered in the cold alleyway he had sought refuge in._

" _What do I want from you?" Ren repeated, looking baffled. "Why would I want something from you?"_

 _And just like that, he sat beside Erik, right there on the snow._

" _Yeah, well, no one really approaches me unless they want something."_

 _Ren stared at the snow. "I can relate to that."_

" _You should go," Erik said. "Your mom and dad will probably freak out when they see you sitting next to…me."_

 _Ren stared at him before his face broke into a smile. "Oh no, I have freedom."_

" _Freedom?"_

" _Yeah, no parents, no worries," Ren said, still smiling._

" _Oh."_

" _Hey, it's getting dark, you should head home," Ren said._

" _I'm an orphan," Erik explained. "I don't really have a…home."_

" _Really?" Ren asked in earnest. "So…if you're an orphan, shouldn't you be at an orphanage?"_

" _Well…I used to live in this really shitty hellhole of a place, but I ran away about a week ago."_

 _Suddenly, Ren looked at him straight in the eyes and Erik found himself unable to look away. He could see himself reflected in those wine-red eyes, like those eyes made him judge himself. Despite – or perhaps because of – that, Erik wasn't exactly comfortable with this weird, creepy kid staring at him like he was…reading his thoughts._

" _You have potential," Ren said, pulling back after what seemed like an eternity to Erik. "What's your name?"_

" _Oh…Erik," he answered, staring suspiciously at his companion. "Erik Steiner."_

" _Nice to meet you, Erik. I'm Ren," he said, smiling._

 _Erik stared at him. "What kind of name is 'Ren'?"_

" _It's Japanese."_

" _Oh."_

" _Do you Beyblade?" Ren asked suddenly._

" _No. Lemme guess, you do?" Erik said somewhat resentfully._

 _Ren stood up. "Yes, actually. I do. In fact, I'd like you to come with me to England."_

" _Wait – England?" Erik asked, "Why the hell would I go with you to England?"_

" _Well, I run an organization there and I'd like you to join. I can teach you how to Beyblade and you can find a new purpose in life."_

" _And…how do I know you're not kidnapping me?" Erik asked suspiciously._

 _Ren laughed. "Well, I didn't really want to do this, but if you really don't trust me then I suggest you start asking around a bit. Anyone with a decent knowledge of beyblading should know who I am."_

" _You're…famous?"_

" _You could put it that way. Anyway, I leave for England in two days. You have until then to think about it."_

 _With that, he left._

 _Seeing as he only had two days to figure out the kid's identity and decide if he was going with him, and then find the wretched brat, Erik started 'asking around' – as Ren put it – the very next morning._

 _He approached some kids who were blading in a park and asked if they knew something about a weird kid around fourteen years old with 'kinda long red hair' and 'creepy pinkish red eyes'._

" _Was he, by any chance, Japanese?" one of the kids asked him._

" _Well, he said his name was Japanese but he ran an organization in England so he must live there," Erik said._

" _What was his name?"_

" _Ren, I think," Erik answered._

" _And…he lived in England?"_

" _Yeah."_

" _And he had red hair?"_

" _Uh…yeah."_

" _How old was he, again?"_

" _Uh…I dunno, really. He looked younger than me. Fourteen, I guess? Fifteen at most."_

 _The kids stared at each other and gasped. "And you_ met _him?"_

" _Uh…yeah."_

" _Oh. My. Gosh. You just met Ren Katsuragi and you didn't know who he was?!"_

" _Uh…no," Erik answered, looking unconcerned. "_ Should _I know who he is?"_

" _YEAH!" they yelled in unison. "That guy's a legend!"_

" _He didn't look too legendary," Erik muttered._

" _Are you kidding me? That guy is amazing! He's like, one of the strongest people to ever play the sport!"_

" _He looked like a wimp with way too much pride if you ask me," Erik admitted, still not all that impressed._

" _He won three Beyblade World Championships in a row! There are only two other people who've done that! Ren Katsuragi's teammate Evangeline Granger and before those two there was this guy Tyson Granger and he's a legend too!"_

" _This is confusing." Erik stated, but he'd already made his mind. He was going._

 **x.x.x**

"Basilisk, rise!"

"Wait," Makoto said. "Basilisk?"

"Like…the lizard?" Markus asked.

"I don't think so," Kouren said. "Judging from his fighting style in his past battles and his fashion sense, I'd say this Basilisk is the mythical one."

"A mythical…basilisk?" Makoto asked.

"Apparently there's some old story about this weird serpent-like reptile called the basilisk," Gou explained, eyes closed, arms crossed. "It can kill with a single glance."

"Whoa…" Makoto said. "Never took you to be a mythology lover."

"I'm not," Gou denied, as though being accused of a horrible crime. "Kenji told me."

"Basilisk, attack!" Erik commanded.

"Drion, do…" – but before she could even complete the command, the maroon serpent had sent the blade flying.

"D…Drion!"

Once again, before Rin could react properly, the serpent moved upwards and hit Drion, throwing it back into the stadium.

"I've only just begun, little princess," Erik hissed softly.

 **x.x.x**

" _Erik, could you try these out for me?"_

" _What are those?" Erik asked, staring at the silver bracelets Ren held in his palm. As an attempt at humor, he added, "Friendship bracelets?"_

" _Exactly," Ren said, his eyes glinting. "Emily and I just finished them."_

" _Uh…okay. But are they seriously friendship bracelets?" Erik asked._

" _Well, that wasn't what I was planning to call them, but you can consider them as friendship bracelets for you and your bit beast."_

" _But…uh…how's the bit beast gonna wear it?"_

 _Ren laughed. "The bit beast won't actually wear the bracelet, silly. It will connect you to the bit beast. You'll feel the damage it takes."_

" _But don't we feel it already?" Erik asked. "I mean, if you're in a tough battle you start to lose stamina, and breathing becomes harder, and your body starts to ache. Heck, I've even seen people pass out."_

" _Yes, that does happen, but that damage is a less than a quarter of a quarter of the actual damage the bit beast takes. How much pain you feel with your bit beast depends on how strong your bond is. It helps in the long run."_

" _So…the stronger the bond with your bit beast, the better you'll perform?" Erik guessed._

 _Ren smiled, satisfied. "Well done."_

 _So Erik put the bracelet on._

" _Who am I fighting?" he asked, getting his gear out._

 _Ren smiled cheerfully. "Oh, that would be me."_

 _Erik stopped halfway through putting his winder into the launcher. "Y…you?"_

" _Yes, I think it will be an interesting match."_

 _ **~a very short while later~**_

" _17 seconds, that's actually quite good," Ren said, calling his blade back._

 _Erik sunk to the ground, staring at his blade in disbelief. "N…no way. You beat the crap outta me in just seventeen seconds?"_

 _Ren smiled. "The bracelet slowed me down."_

" _I swear those were the longest seventeen seconds of my life," Erik whimpered._

" _Well, you really need to practice. But, you know, it's almost like these were made for you," Ren said, gesturing towards the bracelets._

" _B…but I lost…so quickly."_

" _Most people lose faster," Ren admitted. "Like I said, that was pretty good."_

 _ **x.x.x**_

" _Ren, I challenge you to a beybattle!"_

 _Ren stopped._

" _You can consider this payback for that time you beat me in seventeen seconds," Erik continued. "I'll beat you."_

 _Ren looked surprised. "You think you can…defeat me?"_

 _Erik grinned. "Watch me."_

 _Ren turned to face him. "You're overestimating yourself. That's dangerous."_

" _Fighting you or overestimating myself?" Erik asked._

" _Both," Ren answered._

" _Well, I'll prove you wrong!"_

 _Ren raised an eyebrow. "And if you lose?"_

 _Erik blinked. He hadn't really thought that far ahead._

 _Ren smirked. "Fine, I'll fight you. But if you lose, I'll expel you."_

" _Wh…what?!"_

" _Come on."_

 _It was the scariest, most painful battle of his life. And the shortest._

" _12 seconds," a researcher announced._

 _Ren stared at him coldly. "Weakness is a crime, Erik."_

" _R…Ren…please…" Erik began._

" _I'm letting you off this one time, simply because I'm not quite ready to let you go so quickly," Ren said. "Lose like this again and I will expel you. That is a promise."_

 _Erik nodded, still wide eyed._

 **x.x.x**

"Ren," Sebastian asked hesitantly. "Why did you do that to Erik?"

"Are you talking about that time when I threatened him with expulsion?" Ren asked, looking somewhat amused.

Sebastian nodded. "Y…yeah. That really got to him."

"It was necessary," Ren stated. "Erik's full potential can only be unleashed if he knows the only way for him is forward. Failure had no real value to him when I first met him. He didn't have anything to begin with, so what could he possibly lose? He didn't really take things seriously. So, I gave him something he could lose, and Erik performs best when pushed to his limit."

"You pushed him to his limit just so he could win for you?!" Sebastian asked incredulously.

Ren stared at him with the look of someone trying to explain something extremely complicated to a young child. "You make me sound so…despicable, sometimes. I pushed him because it would benefit him. Whether he stays with the EBA or not, he now has a special bond with his bit beast. Its common knowledge that the stronger the blader's bond is with the bit beast, the more powerful they will be."

"So, you pushed him so he would be able to build an unusually strong bond with his bit beast?"

"Precisely."

"And that would help him in the long run, even though all that pain might have some immediate consequences?"

"Well done," Ren said, letting out a small smile.

 **x.x.x**

"I'm _going_ to win this," Erik said. "I have no other option."

"Yeah?" Rin said, "Well, I'm gonna win this before you as payback for breaking Markie's blade like that!"

"That's all you care about?" Erik asked incredulously. "That's so ridiculous it kinda pisses me off."

With that, he let lose another barrage of frighteningly fast attacks from all sides.

Rin let out a scream and fell to the ground, bleeding all over.

"Of course," Kouren said. "He's attacking her blade like that, it means she's feeling like she's being attacked like that as well."

"I can't watch this anymore," Makoto said. " _Look_ at her."

Rin let out another piercing scream and even Gou bit his lower lip.

"Gou!" Makoto said. "She can't go on like this! Tell her to forfeit. Markie's already won the first match, even if she quits here, we won't lose."

"And just what makes you think she'll forfeit the match just because I told her to?" Gou snapped.

"You could try," Makoto suggested.

"She won't live with herself if she gives up now. Raw power is Rin's territory. If she gives up here, it'll crush her," Gou said. "This isn't easy for me either, but this is Rin's fight, and we have to let her fight on her own."

"Drion, rise!" Rin yelled. "Roar!"

A large gust of wind blew and Erik found his blade struggling to remain in the same position.

Rin hauled herself up. "Right, then, Drion! Tornado!"

"Oh, crap!" Erik muttered, as Rin's tornado pulled his blade towards it.

"Basilisk, let go!" Erik yelled.

The blade stopped resisting and let the wind pull it into the tornado.

"That's ridiculous!" Vivian exclaimed. "What on earth is he thinking?"

Emily smirked. "He's won this."

"Guys," Kouren said. "Something isn't quite right."

"What?" Markus asked.

"See that look on his face? It's a little disconcerting for someone who's about to be thrown out," Kouren observed.

Erik's eyes were narrowed, and his seemingly ever present grin was firmly in place. He watched as Drion's tornado sucked Basilisk inside and hugged himself as the sharp wind hit him.

"This mover takes too much stamina from Rin's blade," Kouren muttered.

Sure enough, Rin was already panting. Erik's number of bruises and cuts seemed to have increased too, as his blade climbed the tornado higher and higher.

"What is she doing?" Vivian asked. "She should have torn him apart by now!"

"That's not what she's aiming for," Emily said. "She's going to pull Erik into the tornado, then throw him out of the dish from the top."

Vivian smiled pityingly, though her midnight blue eyes remained cold. "How cute."

"Drion, now!" Rin yelled as the wind threw Erik into the air. The tornado stopped immediately and Rin sunk to her knees, panting.

Erik smirked. "Basilisk, strike."

Rin stared wide-eyed at the blade which had changed direction in mid-air and now seemed to be headed straight for her blade.

Erik's blade wasn't really aiming to land in the middle of the dish. Rather, it seemed like he was going to enter through the edge.

"I still don't know what he's thinking," Vivian said.

"Well," Emily began. "He used Rin's move to his advantage. He used the tornado as a way to get himself out of being thrown out. When he was in the air, he changed direction at the last moment. He could've charged straight for Rin's blade but that would give Rin a chance to dodge the attack by simply moving aside and Erik's plan would backfire. By entering through the edge of the dish, Basilisk gains more speed because of the slope, gives Rin less time to react, and can control itself from being thrown out incase Drion does end up dodging. It's a clever strategy, and not one I was expecting from Erik of all people."

Vivian was about to respond just as Rin's scream rang through the stadium. Basilisk attacked Drion from the left, sending it towards the right side of the dish. It beat Drion to the edge of the dish, where it attacked again, this time sending it in the opposite direction.

"Stop it!" Rin yelled. "You're hurting Drion!"

"So, you've finally realized that, eh?" Erik said coldly. "Too late. If you'd actually managed to finish me off with that last move, your blade would've been spared. But now, if I let you off easily, you might turn the tables against me once more. Can't let that happen."

He had barely finished that sentence as he let out a scream. Drion had attacked – and was still attacking in fact – and Rin's expression looked like that of someone who had just run out of patience. The yellow hair bow that kept her ponytail in place had fallen off, and her silky black locks now tumbled down to the back of her knees. Her golden eyes held the look of a predator determined to exterminate its prey.

Erik grinned as his purple eyes met hers. "Well, looks like I just made the little princess angry " – he licked his lips – "this will be fun."

"Drion, Blade Dance!"

"Blade…. _dance?_ " Makoto repeated incredulously. "What kind of name is that?"

"You're in no position to comment. Your trademark move is called 'Really Big Wave'," Gou pointed out.

"Hey, I can't think properly when I'm tense!" Makoto defended.

Back in the stadium, Rin's new move was one where Drion manipulated the air into forming numerous invisible blades, which would then attack the opponent's bit beast. Since the bracelets made them feel the exact amount of damage as the bit beast, Erik felt like he was being stabbed all over his body **(definitely not a feeling you'd welcome with open arms).**

"I won't let you hurt Drion like that," Rin seethed **(somehow, whenever I imagine an angry Rin, I end up thinking she'd be even cuter).**

"Look, princess," Erik said, breathing heavily. "This isn't about you or your weak blade. I simply _can't_ lose, and you can never understand the situation I'm in."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, they had a new fire in them.

"Basilisk, Cursed Gaze!"

Rin stepped back, trembling. "W….wait…stop!"

Erik smirked mercilessly. "The original basilisk's cursed gaze could cause death with a single glance. Now, my blade can't quite _kill_ a bit beast, but I've mastered this little trick – with a little help from Ren – so that the enemy will find themselves paralyzed with fear! Eventually, the fear will become too much to contain, and the blader will start wishing for their end."

They watched in horror as Rin stood there, trembling with fear but unable to do anything. Likewise, Drion was paralyzed in the dish.

"Wh…what is this…feeling?" Rin asked, staring at her trembling arm. "I don't like it. S…stop it!"

Erik locked his slit-like purple pupils with Rin's golden orbs.

"Always the center of attention, the thing you fear the most is isolation, right?" Erik whispered, his very voice sending shivers down her spine. "You're afraid of not being wanted, of people hating you."

"STOP IT!"

"You'll lose to me, right here, and then you'll be useless to your team," Erik pressed.

"SHUT UP!"

He was speaking so softly that even Rin, with her sharp hearing, was straining to hear him. There was no way her teammates could hear him.

"Basilisk, Serpent's Strike!"

With that, the maroon serpent charged toward Drion, who – like it's master – was paralyzed, and shattered the blade with one well-aimed strike.

Daichi, who had been so dazed he'd forgot to comment, seemed to snap back to reality. "A…and…it's over! Erik Steiner takes the win! You gotta hand it to these kids, they know how to put on a show."

Erik called his blade back and raised it above his head, grinning.

"How can he smile through all that pain?" Sebastian asked, sitting beside Vivian.

"You took long," Vivian commented.

Sebastian answered briefly. "Ren."

"Oh."

"It's a façade," Emily said, staring at Erik's bloodied face and broken body. "Beneath that ever present grin lies a boy with countless insecurities."

 **x.x.x**

Erik stumbled through the corridor, barely able to walk. He wanted to get to somewhere isolated, before he passed out.

'Oh crap!' he thought as he felt his vision blur. He lost his balance and would have collided face-first with the ground if a certain someone hadn't caught him.

"R…Ren?" he stammered.

"Careful," Ren said, as though Erik had merely tripped and wasn't covered with gruesome injuries.

"I'm fine," Erik lied, pulling himself up.

"And I'm blind," Ren said. "You pushed yourself over the limit. That's dangerous."

"Blading's the only thing I'm good at," Erik muttered. "And…it's…all…thanks to…you."

With that, he passed out.

At that moment, Ren felt something he had forgotten he was capable of feeling: concern.

 **x.x.x**

"I…lost?" Rin muttered, as she felt herself falling backwards, the ounce of strength leaving her body.

She was expecting herself to collapse on the cold floor. What she wasn't expecting was being caught by a pair of pale, slightly muscular arms.

"G…Gou?"

"You need medical attention," Gou said urgently. "Kouren?"

"Already on it," Kouren said, calling an ambulance.

Rin didn't realize she was crying until she felt her vision blurring and her cheeks getting wetter and wetter.

"Hey, Rin," Makoto said softly, crouching beside her. "It's okay. We love you no matter what. Winning doesn't really matter."

"Yeah," Markus said.

"Besides, we'd never find someone as pure as you, Rin," Kouren added, smiling.

"Guys…" Rin said, now sobbing. "Th..thanks..."

 **x.x.x**

 **Damn it! You Bladecrushers have me crying here.**

 **This chapter is officially the longest chapter so far with over 6000 words. I know it's not all that much, but most of my chapters are around 2k to 3k words, so this is pretty long for me. Especially since I wrote all of it in three days. I haven't really been sleeping much lately because I've been working on this whenever I've had time. Heck, I slept four hours last night! This is the first time I've done something with such dedication. I'm lazy.**

 **What do you guys think of Ren's past from Hiro's perspective?**

 **Also, is there a character in this story you can relate to? Me, I can relate to just about everyone in one way or the other, but I think the most relatable characters for me are Ren (yes, the villain) and Kouren (because she's reputed to be a nerd but isn't really a nerd and has a secret rebellious side).**

 **Anyway, special thanks to unaisa memon, Rock the Road, MagicalPhoenix12 and the-next-you-know-who for reviewing.**

 **And now, I really must go lie down because my back is all stiff and I think I need to rest my eyes too. Over-exposure to computer.**

 **Well, see you guys in the next chapter…which will take at least a month, because I just exhausted my creativity (not really, it's just…diverted).**

 **~Chun**

 **P.S: I'll be posting a picture of chibi ten-year-old Ren very soon as the cover image for this story, so check the cover, kay?**


	17. Final Round, Final Battle

**HI Y'ALL! GUESS WHO'S BACK?! Yeah, it's just boring old me -_-**

 **Before I forget, I'd like to tell everyone that my profile picture now shows a picture of Evie. Which I drew by myself. It was my first attempt at digital art so naturally, it looks pretty bad. But it should give you guys an idea of what she looks like and how I imagined her.**

 **Oh, and I don't think I've mentioned this, but the entire story takes place in the month of October.**

 **Without further ado, let's start the chapter!**

 **x.x.x**

" _You want to join the EBA?"_

 _The girl nodded. She was probably around 14, but she looked older, and a lot like someone who had either been running for her life or had just lost a fight with her hair-dryer. Judging from the state of her clothes, Ren assumed this blue-haired girl had not been fighting hair-dryers lately, which meant she had probably been running._

" _I'm sorry, but I don't harbor runaway princesses," he said, meeting her eyes for a brief second before the girl looked away._

 _She clenched her fists. "I…I'm not a runaway princess."_

" _No. You're quite possibly Veronica Beauregard's missing daughter."_

 _She gasped and took a step back._

 _Ren smirked. "Well, looks like I was right. Your mother is looking for you, you know."_

 _She met his gaze with a fierce light in her eyes, and Ren smirked, as though victorious._

" _I have no intention of going back."_

" _Well, then, Miss Beauregard. You've been on the run for two days and" –_

" _How did you know that?" the girl interrupted._

" _It's been on the news, your picture is on the front page of every newspaper, and I've actually been told there are leaflets being stuck up all over the city just to find you. With your social status, you need to be careful" –_

" _Well, that's why I'm here!" she said impatiently._

" _So you want to join the EBA so you can stop running and stay off your mother's radar for a while until you figure out what you're going to do next?"_

 _The girl's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "How did you know that?"_

" _It's painfully obvious, and you're not coming off as particularly bright, Lady Beauregard. You can at least try to hide the fact that I can see right through you."_

 _She clenched her fists and glared at him. Ren had to admit, he was having fun toying with her._

 _So, he presented her with a question._

" _You say you want to join the EBA, but do you even know what EBA stands for?"_

 _The girl seemed to be taken aback by this question._

" _I…I know what it stands for," she began defensively._

 _Ren raised an eyebrow. "Which would be?"_

" _Well…it has something to do with sports, right?"_

" _Right," Ren said, smirking with amusement._

" _Okay…is it…English….baseball…"_

" _We do not play baseball here."_

" _Oh," the girl said, blinking, "Is it basketball?"_

" _No."_

" _Badminton?"_

" _Beyblade," Ren said, giving up. He almost expected her to ask what 'beyblade' was._

" _B…beyblade?" the girl stammered before rummaging in her bag for something. "Like this?"_

 _It was a beyblade, grey, mixed with blue, almost like the sky on a windy day. On the bit-chip was a picture of a woman in a blue-gray kimono, half of her dark hair tied in a bun while the rest of it fell to her waist._

" _How did you get that?" Ren asked._

 _The girl stared at the blade with a certain type of affection. "I….don't remember exactly, but it was almost like…like it was calling me."_

" _And…do you know how to use it?" Ren asked somewhat doubtfully._

" _It's a top," the girl said. "So, I just have to spin it, right?"_

 _Ren sighed. "Never mind."_

" _Well, if you're so talented, why don't you teach me?" she snapped._

 _Ren looked at her doubtfully. "We'll see about that."_

" _Does that mean I can stay?" she asked hopefully._

" _That depends on what you have to offer," Ren said softly._

" _Money?"_

" _No," Ren said coldly, looking offended. "Talent."_

 _The girl's face fell. "Oh. Well, I've been told I have a phenomenal memory."_

" _Well, let's see how we can use that."_

 **x.x.x**

"Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for the final match of the final round of the Beyblade World Championships!"

The crowd cheered wildly.

"Rin's been moved to the ambulance, they'll be reaching the hospital in a few minutes," Kouren informed.

"Who's with her?" Markus asked.

"Uncle Ray and Aunt Mariah, of course," Makoto said.

"YOU ALL KNOW WHO'S GONNA FIGHT THIS MATCH!" Daichi yelled. "It's Gou Hiwatari from the Bladecrushers versus Vivian Beauregard from the EBA Shooting Stars!"

Gou took out his blade and began walking toward the dish but stopped when he heard Kouren call out, "Do your best!"

"Yeah," Markus joined in. "No pressure."

And why on earth was Makoto grinning like an idiot?

"Keep smiling!" he said. Wonderful. He was trying piss him off on purpose.

It worked too, surprisingly, because Gou yelled, "Keep dreaming, Granger!"

Gou scanned the crowd. Too many familiar faces for him to count but…wait….what was _he_ doing here? It didn't matter. What mattered was that Kai still wasn't there. Gou tried to deny the fact that the sinking feeling in his stomach wasn't disappointment.

"Are the players ready?" Daichi asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Gou nodded and saw his opponent doing the same.

"Right then. There, two, one…"

"Let it rip!" the bladers yelled, and two blades dropped simultaneously in the dish.

Gou stared directly at Vivian, and she held his gaze. Her eyes were midnight blue, but they reminded Gou of a foggy night, one where nothing was clear. Gou's thoughts shot to one other blue-eyed person he knew: Kenji. But Kenji's eyes were a lighter shade of blue, sharp and clear, but few saw past that to see the wit that lied underneath.

But why did Vivian's mysterious blue eyes remind him of Kenji. No, they didn't remind him of Kenji, they reminded him of Kenji at the Singaporean round. Kenji, when he was being controlled by Ren.

Gou was pulled out of his thoughts when a sharp pain surged through his body. He stared at the dish and realized that Vivian's blade had attacked. However, before he could react, the blue-grey blade attacked him Drigelle yet again, and Gou once again felt a piercing pain in his body.

 **x.x.x**

Among the crowd, a certain fifteen year old redhead leaned against one of the walls as he watched the battle, his green eyes critical, as though he was already trying to decide the outcome of the match.

He was forced to withdraw his gaze when someone gave him a hard pat.

The redhead gave the newcomer an icy glare, though said companion simply grinned, suggesting this was normal practice. He was a teenage boy, probably around fifteen or sixteen, with drooping, silky black hair that ended below his chin but above his shoulders, pale skin, just like his redheaded companion, and black eyes that shone with mischief and mirth to match the large grin plastered on his face. His clothing was nothing out of the ordinary; a simple blue T-shirt and black jeans.

"Trinich!" Ryan whined, fanning himself with his hand. "The weather here is terrible! There's no snow!"

"This isn't Russia, Ryan," the redhead said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah well, I'm not Mr. Prefect, unlike some people…" Ryan began pointedly, but stopped suddenly and said in a somewhat alarmed tone. "Phoebe's back. I am I am so gonna be dead."

Trinich followed Ryan's gaze and saw a familiar girl walking toward them. She was the same age as the two boys, with thick but short blond hair tied into a high ponytail with two thick strands of blond framing her face and bangs on her forehead. She was wearing a yellow sleeveless shirt with denim shorts and ankle length socks under red tennis shoes. A black backpack hung from her shoulders and she was drinking water from a bottle that seemed to hold a rather unhealthy amount of ice.

Trinich raised an eyebrow but decided to stay quiet as the girl called Phoebe calmly walked over to them and hit Ryan on the head with her backpack.

"Ow, ow, ow, OW!" Ryan whimpered, massaging his head. "What was that for? And what on earth have you got in that bag?"

"You're lucky I forgot my dumbbells," Phoebe said with a murderous look in her eyes. "What were you thinking, running off on your own like that?!"

"It was really hot out there," Ryan defended, still rubbing his head. "So hot."

She threw him the ice-cold bottle, "Here."

Ryan caught it, looking shocked. "Is it poisoned?"

He found himself backed against a wall with Phoebe holding him by his collar. "Listen, punk, if you have a death wish you can just say so. I'll make it quick."

"Uh…that won't be necessary," Ryan said sheepishly, breathing out in relief as Phoebe let go of him.

"So," she continued, as though nothing had happened **(or maybe she was used to giving out death threats at a daily basis)**. "Whatever happened to that little girl from the last match? I missed the end because _someone_ –" she gave Ryan a pointed glare – "wanted to go outside."

Ryan sweat-dropped.

"She lost the match," Trinich said emotionlessly. "She was taken to the hospital, and from the look of it, Gou will be following shortly."

"Don't say that, man," Ryan said, finally looking down into the stadium. "Look, he's doing just fi…oh."

"That girl…she seems almost as destructive as Evangeline Granger," Phoebe said, crossing her arms.

"No way," Ryan said. "You've never had the pleasure of being on the receiving end of her attacks when she's super mad at Trinich for making her boyfriend cry. Evangeline Granger's a monster, I swear."

"I _have_ had the pleasure of being on the receiving end of quite a few of her most destructive attacks, and I have also had the 'pleasure' of discovering that her attacks can hurt physically as well."

"Girls are scary," Ryan muttered.

"Boys are idiots," Phoebe replied.

Trinich cleared his throat somewhat pointedly.

"Boys are reckless idiots with who want nothing but trouble," she corrected.

"That is….actually true," Trinich realized.

"Whose side are you on?" Ryan asked, looking offended.

"I don't take sides," Trinich answered calmly.

"You're on the side that's against Ren," Ryan pointed out.

"Something about him bothers me," Trinich said, seemingly deep in thought. "First there was Kogo, then…Kenji almost killed Gou, and then he almost killed himself to save Gou. That…wasn't like him. And then there was Gou. And now, Lady Veronica Beauregard's daughter."

"Who's Lady Veronica Beauregard? And why is she called a 'lady'?" Ryan asked. "I mean, it's kinda obvious that she's a lady."

"Because she's a countess," Trinich said. "I told you two days ago."

"I can't remember what I had for breakfast," Ryan said, grinning proudly.

"Idiot," Trinich and Phoebe said in unison.

Ryan sweat-dropped, before his gaze fell on the battle. "Man, I feel really bad for Gou."

 **x.x.x**

"Caelum, attack!"

Gou bit his lower lip as multiple cuts appeared on skin.

Vivian smiled. "And again."

Gou screamed as Caelum attacked several times. Vivian had formed blades out of…well, thin air, and was using them to attack Drigelle.

"Caelum, break him beyond repair!"

Gou screamed again and fell to the ground.

"She's torturing him," Makoto whispered. He looked a little shocked.

"I wasn't expecting Gou to be over-powered so easily," Kouren said, looking worried.

"This is just like Rin's fight," Markus said.

Vivian smirked, "You're screams are satisfying."

Gou glared at her as he struggled to get back to his feet. "You're…just as…much…of a sadist…as Ren."

"I take that as a compliment."

"Drigelle, Flame of Victory!" Gou yelled, standing up

Drigelle lit up with flames, but before it could do anything else, Vivian said, "Caelum, blow it out."

There was a gust of wind, strong enough to put the flame out.

Vivian stared at it with a cruel smile. "You're blade is like a candle."

Gou glared. "Oh yeah? Drigelle, burn it to cinders!"

"Oh, that," Vivian said, looking somewhat disappointed. "I was expecting that."

Caelum blew it out once more.

"Of course you were, you're practically Ren's puppet," Gou seethed.

"Maybe I am," Vivian said. "Why does that bother you so much?"

"Because he's using you!"

"So?"

Gou face-palmed. "What do you mean ' _so'_?! You don't even have a will of your own anymore!"

"You're right, I don't think I do. But my life is so much easier this way." She looked away. "You don't understand."

 **x.x.x**

" _Vivian, Lord Campbell will be joining us for dinner tomorrow."_

 _Veronica Beauregard, Vivian's mother, was a beautiful woman midnight blue eyes, the same shade as Vivian, and long azure blue locks curled to perfection. Her clothing was…more befitting of a ball than anything else._

" _That old man with salt-and-pepper hair, correct?" Vivian asked, her voice dripping with venom._

" _Don't take that tone with me, Vivian," her mother warned. "He will be your stepfather very soon."_

" _YOU'RE MARRYING HIM?!"_

" _Vivian Beauregard, I strongly advise you to use your indoor voice," her mother said sternly._

 _Vivian stared at her, eyes shining with tears. "It hasn't even been a year since Father died."_

" _Your father was a weak man," her mother began._

" _HE WAS NOT WEAK!"_

" _Keep your voice down!"_

" _I hate that man! I hate_ you! _"_

" _I'm doing this for you," she began once more._

" _You're doing this for yourself!" she yelled and stormed out of the room, sobbing._

" _Vivian!" her mother called one last time before sitting down and rubbing her temples. "That girl."_

 _ **x.x.x**_

" _Hello, little miss," said a cheerful young woman with limp brown hair tumbling down from her cap._

 _Vivian, who was lying listlessly on her bed, stared at the maid somewhat exasperatedly. "Janet."_

" _Are you alright, little miss?"_

" _Wonderful," Vivian said sarcastically. "Why, I've never been better."_

" _Well, I'm here to help you pick an outfit for tomorrow evening," the maid continued, probably thinking against retorting._

" _For her wretched dinner date, correct?"_

" _Uh…yes, I believe it's for the dinner tomorrow," Janet said cautiously._

 _Vivian turned over. "I'm not going."_

 _Janet's eyes widened in surprise but she regained her composure almost immediately. "I don't think the mistress knows that. I'll go inform her."_

" _Uh…no. There's no need for that," Vivian said quickly before sighing. "Let's get this over with."_

" _Don't look so down, little miss," Janet said. "I've heard this Lord Campbell has a daughter your age. Wouldn't it be nice to have a sister to talk to?"_

" _Stepsister," Vivian corrected. "And I have no interest in 'talking' to some strange girl."_

 _She walked over to her wardrobe and opened it to reveal quite a number of dresses, which, while designed differently, were all the same shade of royal blue._

" _Your dresses are…quite similar, miss," Janet said carefully._

" _I've found that I rather like the color blue," Vivian said, before walking in. "So, this man…he has only one daughter?"_

" _My, I wasn't expecting you to be so interested, miss."_

" _I need to know what I'm dealing with, and if I'll have to tolerate any more brats."_

" _His son is eighteen, but you don't have to worry, little miss. I've heard that while he will be in attendance tomorrow, he will be going away for college soon."_

" _I see."_

 **x.x.x**

"Drigelle, Blazing Gig Tempest!"

 **(Quick note: Gou did not inherit Kai's hidden knack for fire-bending and will not be performing a choreographed dance routine like Kai while calling upon this move. You know, that thing Kai does when two of his fingers catch fire and then he jumps into the air and sprouts wings? Seems like standard fire-bending to me. Especially the part where he shoots fire out of two fingers. Princess Azula of the fire-nation does that. I love Kai and all but…to be completely honest, that seems…kinda embarrassing. So yeah, none of that from Gou).**

Scarlet phoenix feathers dropped like daggers around Vivian's blade, making it almost impossible for the blade to move.

"Drigelle –"

But before Gou could continue, Vivian commanded, "Caelum, Whirlwind!"

A vortex of wind formed inside the dish, instantly blowing away everything in its path.

"Drigelle, Wing attack!" Gou yelled.

Flames lit the crimson blade but the wind-pressure around them meant that they went out almost immediately.

"Now do you understand, Gou Hiwatari?" Vivian asked, eyes glinting. "No matter how strong the flame, my wind will always blow it out.

Gou glared at her.

"Caelum, rise."

The Bladecrushers gasped as a woman rose from the blade, half of her dark hair tied in a bun, while the rest of it tumbled down to her waist. She was wearing a blue-grey kimono. On her back were wings that seemed to be made of strong winds. They reminded Gou of an extremely stormy day.

"Drigelle, rise and engulf it in flames," Gou commanded.

The bit-beast rose from the blade. It looked exactly like Caelum, except for the fact that it seemed to have adopted a fire-based theme.

"It isn't going to work," Vivian said.

The dish erupted in flames.

 **x.x.x**

 _"Can you at least launch a blade?" Ren asked her, a look of mocking doubt on his face._

 _"Launch?" Vivian asked, looking unsure. "Like…launch a top?"_

 _"You can't launch," Ren realized, disbelievingly._

 _"Well, unlike some people, I don't have unlimited time on my hands," she said pointedly._

 _"Neither do I," Ren said, smiling pleasantly. "I'm sure I can find someone to escort you back to Lady Beauregard."_

 _Vivian glared at him. "You wouldn't dare."_

 _"Oh, I would," he said, smirking. "I think I'll enjoy seeing the look of helplessness on your face."_

 _"I demand to meet the person in charge!" Vivian declared._

 _Vivian didn't know what kind of reaction she was expecting from Ren, but she certainly wasn't expecting to find him with his arm wrapped around his stomach and a fist pressed to his mouth, shaking with…laughter?_

" _What's so funny?"_

 _Vivian had to wait an entire minute for Ren to regain his composure and wipe tears of mirth from his eyes before she got an answer._

 _"I'm sorry," Ren said, taking a deep breath. "You're the most amusing person I've met in the past two years."_

 _Vivian raised an eyebrow, now more confused than ever._

 _"I don't think you're quite ready to meet him just yet," Ren said, still looking somewhat amused._

 _"And when will I be 'ready'?" Vivian asked. A hint of irritation in her voice._

 _"Maybe when you've learnt how to launch," Ren said with mocking politeness._

 _Vivian's facial expressions were enough to show exactly how much she liked the idea._

 _Regardless, Ren called, "Emily!"_

" _Oi, Ren. I don't think she can hear that from the other side of the room."_

 _It was a boy, around fifteen, with spiky maroon hair and violet slit-like eyes. Vivian had never seen him before, but she agreed with him. The room was full of bladers yelling commands and taunting each-other. Ren spoke clearly, but softly, and in a room as noisy as the one they were standing in, his voice couldn't possibly heard past a few meters._

" _Well, why don't you try, then?" Ren said, turning to face the boy._

" _What do you need?"_

" _A launcher."_

 _The boy cleared his throat. "EMILY!"_

 _Ren winced and stepped away, but a female voice answered with the same intensity, "WHAT?"_

" _REN WANTS A LAUNCHER!"_

" _Please stop yelling in my ear," Ren said, looking slightly exasperated as he covered his ears._

 _The boy shoved his hands in his pockets and gave Ren a cheeky grin. "You're way too sensitive."_

" _You and I have very different views of 'sensitive', Erik."_

 _Erik rolled his eyes. "Yeah right, whatever."_

 _Vivian almost jumped as the woman yelled again. "ERIK, COME GET IT YOURSELF, I'M BUSY!"_

 _A few noisy moments and several curses later, Ren had the launcher and the maroon haired boy – who Vivian had found was called Erik – had gone off to find someone with 'the guts to face him', as he put it._

" _Right, then." Ren said, passing her the launcher. "Just fix your blade on it – no, not like that! I'll show you."_

 _He took the blade from her. "See these spikes here? That's where your blade goes. Then all you have to do is push the winder into this opening right here and pull it when you're ready to launch your blade."_

" _Pull the stick-like thingy?" Vivian asked doubtfully._

 _Ren nodded, giving her the equipment. "Why don't you give it a try?"_

" _So, basically, all I have to do is pull this stick-thingy?" Vivian asked again, still looking unsure._

" _Yes," Ren said, with a little emphasis. "Pull the stick-thingy, which, for your information, is called a_ winder _."_

" _Very well."_

 _Ren raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Vivian pulled the winder out, slowly, and a little nervously. The blade dropped to her feet with a clatter._

 _Ren sighed and pulled out his own blade from his pocket. "Here's how it's done."_

 _Vivian watched as he repeated the steps he had demonstrated just moments ago. Yet, when Ren pulled his…stick-thingy, his blade landed in the dish, where it kept spinning._

" _Perhaps my beyblade lacks something?" Vivian suggested._

" _The only thing you lack is common sense," Ren stated flatly._

" _How on earth am I supposed to know what to do? I've never even seen anyone play this wretched game before!"_

" _The faster you pull, the longer your blade will spin," Ren said patiently. "There are other factors, of course, but let's start with that."_

" _So, I need to pull the stick…uh…winder-thingy…faster than my opponent."_

" _Exactly."_

 **x.x.x**

"Drigelle, engulf it in flames!"

The dish erupted in flames.

"Caelum, Hurricane!"

There was a moment of chaos before the hurricane appeared to be…catching fire?

"Wait, what?" Gou muttered, staring at the dish.

"H…how?" Vivian stammered.

"Dude, stop complaining, it's working in your favor," Makoto pointed out.

"Yeah, but how?" Gou asked.

Kouren opened her laptop. "In the case of a wildfire, the stronger the wind, the faster the fire will spread. This is Gou's only move where the flame doesn't start with a tiny spark. Vivian Beauregard's moves are fast enough to put the fire out while it's too small to be any kind of threat. But now, Gou's flame is big enough to make the wind work in his favor."

"Caelum, stop!" Vivian said. "And now, Wing Attack!"

The hurricane stopped suddenly, but a very strong wind almost pushed Drigelle out of the dish. _Almost._

Gou bit his lip. "Crap."

 _ **x.x.x**_

" _Uh…Ren," Vivian said doubtfully. "Where are you taking me?"_

" _Well, I wanted to have a battle," Ren said._

 _They walked into a large room. It was empty, bar a large beyblade dish in the middle._

" _You want to battle me here?" Vivian asked skeptically._

" _Why not?" Ren asked. "I'll feel more comfortable if I'm in a place where I'm less likely to get distracted. Besides, we won't have to hold back."_

" _So we're having an all-out battle?"_

 _Ren smirked. "Obviously."_

 _Vivian brought out her blade. "Well, then. What are we waiting for?"_

 _ **~later~**_

 _Vivian fell to the floor, exhausted. Her blade fell a few feet away from her. Darkness engulfed her. She stood up, a maniac smile on her face, eyes glowing._

 **x.x.x**

"Caelum, it's time to finish this." Vivian said. The cruel glint in her eyes reminded Gou of Ren. "Attack!"

"Drigelle, dodge…aaah!"

Caelum had already attacked, and Gou was once again met with the unpleasant sensation of a blade piercing his skin. Several more cuts appeared on his skin as Caelum continued to attack, barely giving him any time to react.

"Give up, Gou Hiwatari. You know you have no chance of winning," Vivian said.

Gou glared at her, but even he knew that there was some truth to her words. She had effortlessly stopped all of his best moves. Even if he pulled out a surprise attack in a last-ditch effort, what chance was there that it would work. He could feel himself getting more and more exhausted. His energy was draining. He was glad Kai wasn't here to watch him lose.

It was then that a small pebble hit him hard on the forehead. Gou turned his head to the direction of the pebble and…of course, why was he even surprised? Kai had always had impeccable timing. There he was, standing at the very back, smirking at him mockingly.

Common sense be damned, there was no way he was gonna lose now. Gou grinned as he got back to his feet. He'd go along with that last-ditch effort of his. And he was gonna make it work.

"Drigelle, Pit of Flame!"

The dish burst into flames. _Blue flames._

"Wasn't expecting it to be blue," Gou muttered before shrugging it off with a grin.

Vivian, on the other hand, was in the middle of a crisis. "C…Caelum…"

The fire from Gou's blade had spread to occupy the entire dish, including Vivian's blade, which was now being burnt.

"It's okay, calm down," Vivian told herself. "Alright, Caelum. Let's try that whirlwind one more time."

A small column of air started to move rapidly in a circle somewhere within the flaming dish. It was obviously weaker than before, but apparently still strong enough to protect itself from the fire.

"Hold on," Kouren said. "Wind makes fire spread faster."

That was exactly what was happening. The flames were now larger than before, and leaping out of the dish. Both Gou and Vivian were forced to retreat a few steps backwards to keep their feet from getting burned.

"Damn it!" Gou cursed. "I can't control it!"

Of course, that didn't mean he didn't have to do something to stop this before they ended up putting the entire stadium on fire. Not to mention it was almost impossible to see inside the dish without getting burnt by all that fire which made it more than a little hard to attack or dodge.

"Drigelle, attack her blade!"

The crimson blade charged toward Caelum, surrounded by flames, and Vivian shut her eyes, as though waiting for the impact. When she opened them, she found Caelum at her feet, burnt and charred.

Gou collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

"And with that, GOU HIWATARI WINS!" Daichi yelled. "THE BLADECRUSHERS ARE THIS YEAR'S WORLD CHAMPIONS!"

Vivian let out a scream as a mass of dark energy exited her body and she fell to the ground.

"WE WON!" Kouren and Makoto yelled in unison, while Markus laughed.

"Man, I can't wait to tell Rin!" Makoto exclaimed.

Markus walked up to Gou. "Are you alright?"

"Heck, no," Gou said, staring at the dish. "I can't control it."

Markus followed Gou's gaze to the dish and found that it was still ablaze, and the fire just kept getting bigger.

"Gou," Kouren said, walking behind them. "Why is that fire getting bigger?"

"Because that was an untested move. I came up with it on the spot." Gou said. "I can't control it."

At that moment, small openings appeared at the sides of the dish, extinguishing the fire in a stream of smoke and gas. Fire extinguishers.

Gou raised his hand and the blade flew back into his palm.

"Alright, kids. Gou needs medical attention," Tyson said, appearing behind them.

"I do not," Gou protested, attempting to stand up.

"Whoa, whoa…kid," Tyson said. "You need medical attention _right now!_

It was then that they heard a deep rumbling, before the very ground started shaking. Rubble started falling to the ground, calculatedly missing Tyson and the teams. The crowd panicked and the next few moments saw nothing but chaos.

When the smoke cleared, Tyson saw that the right side of the stadium had been completely demolished while the left side remained intact. Surprisingly – and thankfully – no one had been hurt.

"Who pissed her off?" Makoto asked in a low voice.

"I told you," Ryan whispered to Phoebe, patting dust off his clothes **(yep, they were on the right side)**. "Vivian Beauregard is nowhere near as destructive as Evangeline Granger."

"I said _almost_ ," Phoebe whispered back.

"Be quiet, both of you," Trinich said.

A blade – grey mixed with brown – spun into the arena, followed by none other than Evangeline Granger.

"Dad," Makoto said warningly. "She's angry. Very angry."

"I can see that," Tyson observed.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT'S THE QUEEN OF BEYBLADE, KOGO!" Daichi yelled. "Gotta say, kid, that was some entrance."

"Yeah, well, I intended to make a big entrance," she said, walking up to him and snatching the mic out of his hand.

"Hey…" Daichi protested faintly.

"REN!" she yelled into the microphone. "GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW, YOU HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO!"

Tyson face-palmed. "What is it with these kids? One wants to conquer the world and the other one looks like she's ready to murder him right here."

"REN!" Evie yelled again, but stiffened when she felt a light pat on her back. She spun around to see a very amused Ren standing right there, smirking.

But, apparently, Evie's anger wasn't the first thing on his list.

"Emily," Ren said, glancing her way. "Please close down all exits. I'm afraid Nico Castellan has entered the building without permission on Trinich Ivanov's orders." His eyes darted meaningfully in Kouren's direction as he continued. "That's the second time a twelve-year-old has managed fool our security system."

"WHAT!" Kenji exclaimed, giving Trinich a look of panic.

"Ren…"

This time, it wasn't Evie who spoke up, but Trinich. He was standing on a pile of rubble, his launcher held out in front of him. And if looks could kill, Ren would've died five times by now. But they couldn't, and perhaps that was why Ren looked oh-so amused.

Trinich's voice was laced with venom as he said, "Ren, don't test me."

 **x.x.x**

 **This looks like a good stopping point. Man, this chapter was hard work. And super distracting.**

 **I've been hinting Trinich's identity for a while now. MagicalPhoenix12 almost figured it out. Phoebe turned out to be deadlier than I expected somehow *sweatdrops***

 **In case you don't remember, Nico Castellan is one of Kenji's teammates. You know, the black haired twelve-year-old kid Gou met on the streets of Singapore when the rest of the team was being super secretive about it's members.**

 **I know Gou's victory was biased. But I just couldn't bear to watch him lose T_T**

 **That reminds me, here's what's going on with Vivian. See, her parents are nobles, who married for politics. Her father died when she was 13 due to an illness. Shortly after her death, her mother started courting a guy called Lord Campbell and within a year, they had decided to get married. Lord Campbell's wife was dead and he had two kids, a 14 year old girl called Isla, and an 18 year old boy called Logan. Logan is your typical jerky older brother and hardly ever notices his real sister, much less Vivian. He's away at college for most of the year. Isla goes tosome posh boarding school for girls, so she's also away. Vivian ran away from home in an attempt to stop her mom from marrying Campbell, but it doesn't work, since she has people looking for Vivian all over the city. No one assumes that she would end up in a beyblade organization as a world class beyblader so no one shows up at the EBA claiming to look for her. Eventually, Ren convinces her to go back and at least tell her mom that she's alright, which she does. Her mom marries Lord Campbell anyway and Vivian stays with them for two weeks. During this time she finds out that her little step-sister (who is a couple of months younger than her) is actually really proud, mean, snobby and super hard to get along with. And she's super cunning. Logan wants nothing to do with anyone. 2 weeks later Vivian goes back to the EBA while Campbell's kids go back to school. Vivian had already completed her education (homeschooling, it's faster if you have a few good teachers and a nice memory, which Vivian does), so she decides to become a professional beyblader, much to her mother's disgust. She still goes and visits sometimes, but doesn't really care.**

 **ANYWAY!**

 **Special thanks to unaisa memon, the-next-you-know-who, MagicalPhoenix12 and Rock the Road for reviewing (like always. I love you guys). Oooh, and also thanks to Julia Fernandez Hiwatari for their first review.**

 **Oh, and I dunno if I've told this before, but I've got a sequel all planned out! And I'm super excited!**

 **Anyway, I gotta go. See ya later!**


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